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100 Best Literature Research Paper Topics For Students

Literary research paper topics are among the most interesting to write about. Books are the best teachers for most learners. And, students love reading interesting literature books. But, when asked to write research papers, most students have difficulties choosing their topics. That’s because many issues can be investigated and written about.

For instance, literary topics can be about characters’ personalities in certain works. They can also be about particular characteristics of specific literary genres. Learners can also choose literary analysis topics that focus on the life story of famous writers or poets. But, regardless of what a learner opts to write about, they should choose interesting topics.

What are Interesting Literary Research Paper Topics?

Several factors make a topic interesting to write about. A topic for a research paper or a graduate thesis should generally be definite, specific, and innovative. Also, it should be interesting to research and write about. Here’s how to select interesting literature topics:

Think about something. Explore the idea to select a topic for which you can find sufficient research data from credible sources. Narrow down your subject if you find it too broad.

English literature topics can be classified into different categories. Here some of these categories and topics can be considered in each category.

Great World Literature Research Topics

Perhaps, you’ve been asked to write a literature research paper with a global perspective. Here are some of the literary analysis research paper topics that you can consider.

• Explain how the supernatural and spirituality help in furthering the development of the plot in the Latin American literature of the early 20th century.
• What themes are common in the Japanese poems of the early 20th century? How do they differ from those of the early 19th century?
• Compare the early Chinese literary works and European literary works of the middle ages. How different or alike are they?
• How were European literary works in the early 20th century shaped by the revolutionary works of Engels and Marx? What examples can demonstrate this influence?
• Explain how the Muslim philosophers’ work of the 15th century led to new ideas and inventions across the globe.
• Compare and contrast different anti-British works that originated in India in the 19th century with pro-colonialist works that came from England at the same time.
• How did the nightmarish utopian future ideas of Aldous Huxley influence modern-day science fiction writers across the world?
• Explain how the Antigone play by Sophocles deals with the conflict between the central characters while relating to the state laws and individual conscience.
• How are the sentiments of the authors reflected in Animal Farm by George Orwell and concerns about the October Revolution?
• Explain some of the examples of literary fiction pieces that have shaped cultures in the world. Have historic, societal, and cultural factors played some roles in shaping these literature pieces?
• Being a prolific writer in the early and mid-19th century, Charles Dickens’s works were published in serialized forms. How and why has this approach become less fashionable?
• Compare and contrast the early Japanese literature works and the early Chinese literature works. How do they differ in terms of values and culture?
• Explain how comedy differs in literature across cultures. What comedy appeared in the early theatrical performances and it’s still present in modern literature?
• Analyze chivalry and honor critically in the Green Knight and Sir Gawain. What are the qualities of these works from a similar period?
• Compare and contrast the Odyssey and Iliad by Homer the Ancient Greek. Explain how cultures across the world have adapted the themes presented in the poem.

Top Literary topics for Research Paper

Some topics for literary analysis stand out among students. These are topics that educators recommend for students across the study levels.

• How is literature an aspect of modern culture?
• Explain how feminism has influenced modern literature
• How is psychology utilized in literature?
• Explain the major social issues that have been exposed by literary works
• Explain the philosophical tradition of Daoism in the Chinese literature
• Explain the roles played by death and honor in Japanese literature in the 20th century
• Explain how the European culture influences the Mid-West literature
• How has European culture affected modern literature?
• Analyze the personality of Don Quixote
• Explain how literature differs between countries.
• Discuss poetry in the innovative ear of the 21st century
• Examine racism in the novels of the 1960s and 1970s
• Explain the exile’s perception in literature
• Literature and culture? Which one affects the other?
• How has literature addressed homosexuality?

These can also be great literary debate topics. That’s because learners can have varying opinions about them.

British Literature Research Paper Topics

Students have many topics to choose from when it comes to British literature essay topics. Here are some of the best literature topics from the works of British authors.

• Discuss Victorian England’s picture with the works of Charles Dickens in mind
• Discuss the theme of Orphans with the Oliver Twist character in mind
• Explain how British Literature has influenced different cultures
• Explain how British literature has addressed gender issues
• Explain how King Lear highlights the differences between anti-heroes and villains
• Explain William Shakespeare’s personality- Highlight facts and myths
• Choose two famous British novels and then compare the characters in them
• Explain the viewpoint of different writers about the Utopian civilization idea
• With Harry Potter books in mind, explain why some literature books are considered classics
• Explain how love and romantic love are presented in Charlotte Bronte’s works
• Explain how modern literary works have been affected by the Victorian period works
• Discuss the adultery theme in Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Who are the main characters in Lake Poets’ works?
• Explain how violent imagery was used in World War I poetry
• Explain talent as a theme in Milton’s on His Blindness
• Explain innocence loss in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
• Explain the theme of individualism versus collectivism in Oliver Twist
• Explain why the popularity of detective novels increased in the XIX century
• What role did the supernatural play in Macbeth: a case study of three witches
• Class demarcation in XVII century- The vengeance theme

American Literature Topics

Some teachers ask students to choose American literature research topics for certain reasons. If asked to write on such topics, here are some of the American literature research paper topics to consider.

• Analyze key aspects of American ideology, particularly in the literature written before the 20th century.
• Determine thematic concerns and literary styles of the major historical period of American literature between the colonial period and post-modernism.
• Show the American identity uniqueness of texts
• Propose connections between the American literature concerns and themes in the larger historical development and social issues that face the present world
• Examine major concerns and themes that reappear across the American literature
• Highlight the major themes in Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner
• Explain the African American Experience with female authors like Alice Walker, Zora Neal Hurston, and Toni Morrison
• Explain the predominant theme in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
• Explain how Jonathan Edwards epitomizes Puritan definitions in his sermons
• Explain the use of historical personalities and events by Washington Irving as the background for his works
• The Crucible demonstrates how a community can be torn apart by hysteria. Explain
• Explain how Sylvia Plath demonstrates the social pressure faced by women in the 1960s in the Bell Jar.
• Explain how John Knowles demonstrates the impact of war on everyone
• Explain the strong belief in the education power by Maya Angelou as depicted in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
• Explain how Thornton Wilder conveys life as a gift in Our Town
• Discuss the themes of anger and pity in the Grapes of Wrath
• Explain how Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck portrays the Great Depression struggles
• Discuss the portrayal of the unconquerable spirit in Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
• Plays by Eugene O’Neil are tragically realistic. Explain
• God is humanized in The Creation poem by James Weldon Johnson. Explain

Some of the ideas here are great poetry topics. Nevertheless, they require careful research and analysis to write about.

High School Literary Essay Topics

Some topics in literature are ideal for high school essays. Here are examples of literary analysis paper topics for high school students.

• Compare and contrast the major characters in your preferred book
• Choose your favorite character in a book and explain your reasons for liking it
• Please explain why the quality of a literature book is not determined by its length
• Highlight the similarities of your favorite books
• Discuss the top 4 authors in horror books
• Explain why reading some books is more difficult than reading others
• Explain what it takes to write a high-quality poem
• Who is your favorite poet and why?
• Explain what makes your favorite book interesting
• Who is your favorite character in literary works and why?
• What makes some literature books difficult to read?
• Who are your favorite top 5 authors and why?
• Should the age of readers be restricted to some books?
• What is your favorite literary genre?
• Explain why the author determines the quality of a book more than the story
• Discuss the literary works of your favorite authors
• Why is it important to captivate readers with the introductory chapter of a book?
• Which book genre makes great movies?
• Why is the work of Harry Potter so popular?
• Explain why your favorite horror book is scary

Unique Research Topics in English Literature

Some literature research topics are unique and can be written about by learners at different study levels. Here are examples of such topics.

• Analyze the use of literary devices in novels
• Discuss the author’s autobiography
• Analyze literary genres and the role played by an artist in them
• Compare the works of a similar genre
• Highlight the gender roles of characters in literary works
• Social stratification and Harry Potter- Discuss
• With Charles Dickens’ work in mind, explain the peculiarity of the bildungsroman genre.
• Explain how The Lord of the Rings uses artificial language
• Explain how the Sherlock Holmes image influences the world of detective fiction
• Explain the war theme in the world literature

These are also great literary journalism topics. Nevertheless, they require extensive research to write about.

In a nutshell, students have many literary argument topics to consider. The most important thing is to choose an interesting topic that you can find sufficient data to write about. Also, don’t hesitate to check our history topics .

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50+ Important English Literature Dissertation Topics

Choosing a dissertation topic in English literature can be both exciting and daunting. With a wealth of genres, historical periods, and critical approaches, the possibilities are vast. This comprehensive guide presents over 50 important dissertation topics across various themes and periods, helping you find inspiration for your research.

1. Renaissance Literature

1.1 shakespearean tragedies.

Explore the complexities of human nature, fate, and morality in plays like “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” or “Othello.” Analyze themes such as ambition, revenge, and madness.

1.2 Metaphysical Poetry

Investigate the works of poets like John Donne, George Herbert, and Andrew Marvell. Focus on their use of metaphysical conceits, religious themes, and exploration of love and mortality.

1.3 Female Voices in Renaissance Literature

Examine the representation of women in the works of male authors or explore the writings of female authors like Mary Sidney and Lady Mary Wroth.

2. Victorian Literature

2.1 social criticism in dickens’ novels.

Analyze Charles Dickens’ critique of social issues such as poverty, child labour, and class disparity in novels like “Oliver Twist,” “David Copperfield,” and “Bleak House.”

2.2 The Brontë Sisters

Compare and contrast the themes of gothic elements, gender roles, and family dynamics in the works of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë.

2.3 The Role of Women in Victorian Society

Explore the depiction of women and their societal roles in the works of authors like Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.

3. Modernism

3.1 stream of consciousness in james joyce’s “ulysses”.

Examine the narrative technique of stream of consciousness and its impact on modernist literature through Joyce’s “Ulysses.”

3.2 Alienation in Franz Kafka’s Works

Investigate themes of alienation, bureaucracy, and existential angst in Kafka’s stories like “The Metamorphosis” and “The Trial.”

3.3 Gender and Identity in Virginia Woolf’s Novels

Analyze Woolf’s exploration of gender, identity, and consciousness in works like “Mrs. Dalloway” and “Orlando.”

4. Postcolonial Literature

4.1 identity and displacement in salman rushdie’s works.

Explore themes of identity, migration, and cultural hybridity in Rushdie’s novels such as “Midnight’s Children” and “The Satanic Verses.”

4.2 Postcolonial Feminism in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Novels

Examine the intersection of postcolonial themes and feminist issues in Adichie’s works like “Half of a Yellow Sun” and “Americanah.”

4.3 Representation of Colonialism in J.M. Coetzee’s Novels

Analyze how Coetzee portrays the impacts of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa in novels like “Disgrace” and “Waiting for the Barbarians.”

5. Contemporary Literature

5.1 environmental themes in margaret atwood’s works.

Investigate the portrayal of environmental issues and dystopian futures in Atwood’s novels like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Oryx and Crake.”

5.2 The Digital Age in Dave Eggers’ “The Circle”

Examine the critique of technology, surveillance, and privacy in Eggers’ novel “The Circle.”

5.3 Multiculturalism in Zadie Smith’s Novels

Analyze how Smith addresses themes of multiculturalism, identity, and social dynamics in novels like “White Teeth” and “Swing Time.”

6. American Literature

6.1 the american dream in f. scott fitzgerald’s “the great gatsby”.

Explore the critique of the American Dream and the pursuit of wealth in Fitzgerald’s classic novel.

6.2 Race and Identity in Toni Morrison’s Works

Investigate Morrison’s exploration of African American identity, history, and culture in novels like “Beloved” and “Song of Solomon.”

6.3 The Southern Gothic Tradition in William Faulkner’s Works

Analyze the use of gothic elements, decaying settings, and complex family dynamics in Faulkner’s novels like “The Sound and the Fury” and “As I Lay Dying.”

7. Gothic Literature

7.1 the role of the supernatural in edgar allan poe’s stories.

Examine Poe’s use of supernatural elements, psychological horror, and themes of madness in his short stories.

7.2 Female Gothic in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

Explore the representation of gender, creation, and monstrosity in Shelley’s seminal gothic novel.

7.3 Victorian Gothic in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”

Analyze the themes of sexuality, fear of the other, and the clash between modernity and ancient evil in Stoker’s “Dracula.”

8. Science Fiction and Fantasy

8.1 dystopian themes in george orwell’s “1984”.

Investigate Orwell’s critique of totalitarianism, surveillance, and control in his dystopian novel “1984.”

8.2 World-Building in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”

Examine Tolkien’s creation of Middle-earth, focusing on themes of heroism, power, and the struggle between good and evil.

8.3 Gender and Power in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Analyze the depiction of gender, power dynamics, and resistance in Atwood’s dystopian novel.

9. Children’s Literature

9.1 moral lessons in aesop’s fables.

Explore the use of anthropomorphism and moral teaching in Aesop’s classic fables.

9.2 Fantasy and Reality in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” Series

Investigate the blend of fantasy and reality, the hero’s journey, and themes of friendship and bravery in the “Harry Potter” series.

9.3 Colonialism and Race in “Peter Pan”

Examine J.M. Barrie’s portrayal of colonialism, race, and the concept of the “other” in “Peter Pan.”

10. Romantic Literature

10.1 nature and the sublime in william wordsworth’s poetry.

Analyze Wordsworth’s depiction of nature, the sublime, and the human experience in his poetry.

10.2 Love and Loss in John Keats’ Poetry

Investigate the themes of love, loss, and mortality in Keats’ poetic works.

10.3 Gothic Elements in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

Explore the blending of Romantic and Gothic elements in Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein.”

11. Feminist Literature

11.1 feminist themes in virginia woolf’s “a room of one’s own”.

Examine Woolf’s arguments about women’s rights, creativity, and the need for financial independence in her extended essay.

11.2 Intersectionality in Audre Lorde’s Works

Analyze Lorde’s exploration of intersectionality, identity, and resistance in her poetry and essays.

11.3 Gender and Power in Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar”

Investigate Plath’s portrayal of gender roles, mental illness, and societal expectations in her semi-autobiographical novel.

12. Historical Literature

12.1 historical accuracy in hilary mantel’s “wolf hall”.

Examine Mantel’s depiction of Thomas Cromwell and the Tudor court, focusing on historical accuracy and narrative style.

12.2 The Representation of War in Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Analyze Remarque’s portrayal of the horrors of World War I and its impact on soldiers.

12.3 The French Revolution in Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities”

Investigate Dickens’ depiction of the French Revolution, class struggle, and redemption in “A Tale of Two Cities.”

13. Comparative Literature

13.1 comparing dystopian societies in “1984” and “brave new world”.

Analyze the similarities and differences in the dystopian societies depicted by George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.

13.2 The Hero’s Journey in “The Odyssey” and “The Lord of the Rings”

Examine the use of the hero’s journey archetype in Homer’s epic poem and Tolkien’s fantasy series.

13.3 Themes of Revenge in “Hamlet” and “The Count of Monte Cristo”

Compare and contrast the themes of revenge, justice, and morality in Shakespeare’s play and Dumas’ novel.

14. Mythology and Literature

14.1 the role of myth in james joyce’s “ulysses”.

Investigate how Joyce incorporates and reinterprets classical myths in his modernist novel “Ulysses.”

14.2 Greek Tragedy in Modern Literature

Analyze the influence of Greek tragedy on contemporary works, focusing on themes of fate, hubris, and catharsis.

14.3 Mythical Motifs in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” Series

Explore the use of mythical motifs, creatures, and archetypes in the “Harry Potter” series.

15. Queer Literature

15.1 queer identity in james baldwin’s “giovanni’s room”.

Examine Baldwin’s exploration of queer identity, love, and societal norms in his novel “Giovanni’s Room.”

15.2 Gender and Sexuality in Oscar Wilde’s Works

Analyze Wilde’s depiction of gender, sexuality, and societal hypocrisy in his plays and novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

15.3 The Intersection of Race and Sexuality in Audre Lorde’s Poetry

Investigate Lorde’s exploration of the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality in her poetry.

Choosing a dissertation topic in English literature requires careful consideration of your interests, the scope of available research, and the depth of the material. The above list provides a diverse array of topics across different periods, genres, and themes, offering a solid foundation for your academic exploration. Whether you are drawn to the timeless works of Shakespeare, the social critiques of Victorian literature, the innovative narratives of modernism, or the diverse voices of contemporary literature, there is a rich vein of material to explore in your dissertation.

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100+ English Literature Dissertation Topics in 2024

Vandana Thakur ,

Mar 4, 2024

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Dissertation Topics in English Literature include research topics from poems, stories, literature study etc. It contains topics like Milton & the Bible, The Origins of the Novel, George Eliot and Religious Doubt, Ruskin and Heritage, etc.

Dissertation topics in English literature consist of academic topics in literature that allow students to present their creativity and imagination through writing. It allows students to examine a topic, analyse its significance and portray their views after research in their dissertation.

The dissertation topics in English literature contain topics like Freud and early modernism, Bernard Malumud and Jewish writing, Kipling's India, Psychology and the modern novel etc.

List of 100+ Dissertation Topics in English Literature

There are a wide range of dissertation topics in English literature that students can choose from, research and create their dissertation. Below are the category-wise Dissertation Topics in English Literature.

17th and 18th Century Dissertation Topics in English Literature

19th century dissertation topics in english literature, 20th century dissertation topics in english literature, interdisciplinary subjects dissertation topics, identity and place dissertation topics in english literature, children's dissertation topics in english literature, postcolonialism and dissertation topics in english literature, eco literature dissertation topics in english literature.

The 17th & 18th centuries witnessed the emergence of the novel script, permitting writers to crossways comment on the world utilising plot, metaphor, interior monologues & innovative dramatic devices. Below are some of the dissertation topics in English Literature for students to choose from.

• Milton & the Bible.
• Paradise Lost & the Fall from Grace: The nearest look at the redemption poetry of the 17th century.
• The Genesis Myth & famous literature of the 17th century.
• Love, loss & the geographical vision in the poetry of John Donne.
• The foremost literary explorers: How findings shaped the literary vision of the 17th century.
• Stendhal & the onset of consumerism.
• Visions of nature: Wordsworth & the Eighteenth-Century poetical vision.
• Interiors & interiority in the 18th novel.
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge & the issue of the aesthetic.
• The roots of the novel.
• How Paradise Lost formed the future of the novels.
• The Female Voice: How Girls Become Ladies in 17th Century Fiction.
• How & why Laurence Sterne revealed the artefacts of fiction.

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The nineteenth-century English literature reflects Britain's transformations due to industrialisation and the fall of religious life. It marks new ways of living while grieving the past, exploring the effects of secularisation on individuals. Below are some of the dissertation topics in English Literature for candidates to research.

• Love & loss in Thomas Hardy's poems (1912-1913)
• Retrieving the buried life: Imaginative aspiration in the poetry of Matthew Arnold.
• Love & transmission in the poetry of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
• Bulwer-Lytton and the magical tradition.
• George Eliot and holy doubt.
• Naturalist & mystic: Discovering the origin of Richard Jefferies' inspiration.
• Digging for the simple life: Rustic paper in the nineteenth century.
• An analysis of provincial life: Trollope writing after Austen.
• The extent of costume in the work of Dickens.
• Micro & macro: Comprehending the power relations in The Old Curiosity Shop & Bleak House.
• The changing spiritual imagination of the 19th century.
• How did politics alter literature in the 19th century?
• Gender expression in the gothic novel.
• The changing sense of the Victorian family in the creation of Gaskell.
• Ruskin & heritage.
• How did Realism emerge in 19th-century literature?
• How did Frankenstein expect Science Fiction?

The twentieth century noticed significant aesthetic & philosophical shifts that disrupted the boundaries between prose & poetry in English literature. Below are some of the unique dissertation topics in English literature for students to pick for their dissertation:

• Imaginative closure in the 20th novel.
• W.H. Auden & poetic syntax.
• Understanding the War: Ivor Gurney & the new poetic format.
• Water imagery in the creation of Virginia Woolf.
• 'Is there anything better to be Found?': T.S Eliot & the Wasteland.
• Ted Hughes & Seamus Heaney: An analysis of similarity and difference.
• 'Daring to break convention': The catastrophe of Sylvia Plath.
• Time, Space in The Time Machine & The Island of Dr Moreau.
• Aldous Huxley & the quest for the 'Other.'
• Concerning the idea of being in the position of Milan Kundara.
• A breakdown of character & identity in the creation of Ian McEwan.
• Freud & before modernism.
• Circular narrative form in the work of May Sinclair.
• Investigations in Form: Joyce & the Twentieth Century.
• Bernard Malumud & Jewish writing.
• Magic & fantasy in the innovation of Robert Louis Stevenson.
• Kipling's India and its impact on the readers.
• Jack Kerouac & travel script.
• An analysis of the similarities & distinctions between modernism & postmodernism.
• How did postmodernism try to kill the novel?
• Lost in the Amusing House: How John Barth revealed the artefacts of fiction?

Also Check: 100+ Dissertation Topics in Education in 2024

Interdisciplinary study concerns combining literature with various disciplines like philosophy, architecture, religion, sociology, art, history, etc. It helps students to gain knowledge regarding techniques, themes, and contexts. Below are the dissertation topics of English literature regarding interdisciplinary subjects.

• Describe architecture in the work of Thomas Hardy.
• Science & the 19th-century novel.
• Solving the space age: Publications of the twenty-first century.
• Astronomy and the poetic fantasy of the 19th century.
• Why philosophy counts as literature.
• Travelling the disciplinary boundaries: English writings & archaeology.
• Transforming political relations in novels since 1900.
• The interrelation of science & the arts since the 19th century.
• Psychology & modern fiction.
• Memory & view in Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the day.
• Pursuing the self: Psychology in twenty-first-century publications.
• Darwin & the Evolutionary Chronology.
• The significance of history in interpreting the modern text.
• Sister Arts: modern poetry & painting. Poststructuralist theories of language & the postmodern reader.
• Print culture, mass diffusion, and their effects on the publications of the Renaissance.
• A sociolinguistic study of The Twilight series.

Also Check: 50+ Economics Dissertation Topics in 2024

Landscapes serve as inspiration and character development tools for writers of different literary genres. Novels use narrative techniques to portray inner lives, and identity is closely related to place and culture. Students can find dissertation topics in English literature given below regarding identity and place.

• Transforming landscapes: How urban or rural partition was represented in the 19th century.
• Travel documenting in the 20th century.
• What were the consequences of 'Enclosure' on the poetry of the Romantics?
• The significance of place to the Romantic poet.
• The changing depiction of city living since the 19th century.
• Nature, narrative, and poem since 1940.
• Thomas Hardy & Wessex.
• Richard Jefferies' Wiltshire.
• The Lake District is placed in poems of the 18th century.
• The Mountain was a character in the 19th century.
• Landscape & uniqueness in Lesley Glaister's Honour Thy Father.
• Reporting in the desert: Narratives of Africa.
• Identity, place, and history in postcolonial literature.
• The essence of the sea in colonial exploration narratives.
• Cornish terrains in the work of Thomas Hardy.
• Charles Kingsley & ‘Westward Ho! ‘.
• Terms of the Wealden Forest in Literature since 1800.
• The beach has been a site for transformation in literature since the 19th century.
• Post-9/11 fiction: dislocation and globalisation.
• Wilderness and immigrant nationhood in North American fiction and verse.

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Children's literature utilises imagination, humour, and tradition to create complex themes and imagery. When writing a dissertation on children's literature, consider the age range and societal expectations for appropriate content. Below are some of the children's dissertation topics in English literature.

• What creates an Epic?: A dialogue of favourite children's novels from 1900.
• Fabulous Beasts: Imagery in J.K. Rowling & Tolkien.
• Finding Wonderland: Narrative method and visionary understanding in the work of Robert Louis Stevenson.
• The quest for Utopia in island stories for children.
• Beatrix Potter & the importance of illustration.
• Animals & their role in children's literature since the 19th century
• Hans Christian Anderson & the essence of the fairytale.
• Why humour counts in children's literature.
• Lucy Maud Montgomery & the story of the young artist.
• Roald Dahl, the absurd and the sublime.
• Enid Blyton and the famous adventure story.
• A historical study of the origins of children's literature.
• The significance of names in children's literature.
• Reading to the under-fives: growing imaginations & relationships.
• Enabling children to learn through storybooks.
• What did the Victorians read to their kids?
• Replicas of disability in young literature.

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The subject matter of postcolonialism, an influential academic theory, provides critical perspectives on race, belonging, power, politics, and emancipation. Below are some of the specific dissertation topics in English literature regarding postcolonialism.

• Exploring the 'Other' in Victorian novels.
• Postcolonialism in Naipaul's The Enigma of Incoming.
• How has the Black Lives Matter campaign impacted contemporary black literature?
• A postcolonial lesson of contemporary refugee publications.
• Postcolonialism & climate adaptation literature.
• The postcolonial reading of Things Fall Apart by Achebe.
• Postcolonial information in Toni Morrison's Beloved & Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.

Ecocriticism is a rapidly evolving field that examines the connection between literature and the natural world. It inspires dissertations, close readings, & real-life environmental activism. Below given are some of the dissertation topics in English literature regarding ecocriticism.

• Exploring the corner between eco and spiritual histories in Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard.
• An ecocritical reading of verse from the Romantics.
• Vegan reports in Margaret Atwood's MaddAddam trilogy.
• Ecocriticism as vegan/climate modification activism?
• Exploring the applicability of Thoreau's Walden in 2021.
• Exploring the influence of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring on US activism.
• Covid-19, ecocriticism & the modern novel.

Important Points for Dissertation Topics in English Literature

There are certain pointers that students must acknowledge while working on their dissertation topics in English literature. The topics must meet the following criteria in the initial stage for a better dissertation copy. The important pointers are stated below.

• Students should select a topic that is logically valid and allows them to research practically.
• Students must seek genuine advice from their mentors and peers before creating their dissertation.
• Students must select a trending dissertation topic in English literature to identify gaps and create a winning dissertation.
• Candidates must acknowledge that their dissertation topic must address the problem, be unique and be practically useful.

Also Check: 100+ Psychology Dissertation Topics in 2024

How to Structure Dissertation Topics in English Literature?

A well-structured dissertation topic helps students to get better scores and excel in their studies. Students must follow the below-mentioned dissertation structure to create a winning dissertation copy.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Declaration
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Findings & Analysis
• Discussion & Conclusion
• Bibliography

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Literature Dissertation Topics

Published by Carmen Troy at January 9th, 2023 , Revised On June 7, 2024

  A literature dissertation aims to contextualise themes, ideas, and interests that have grabbed a reader’s interest and attention, giving them a more profound meaning through the movement of time within and outside cultures.

Literature is a comprehensive knowledge of other writers’ views, and to understand them, a student must perform extensive reading and research. A writer coveys their thoughts and ideas through their literary works, including the views and opinions of writers ranging from topics on philosophy , religious preferences, sociology , academics, and psychology .

To help you get started with brainstorming for literature topic ideas, we have developed a list of the latest topics that can be used for writing your literature dissertation.

These topics have been developed by PhD qualified writers in our team , so you can trust to use these topics for drafting your dissertation.

You may also want to start your dissertation by requesting  a brief research proposal  from our writers on any of these topics, which includes an  introduction  to the topic,  research question ,  aim and objectives ,  literature review  along with the proposed  methodology  of research to be conducted.  Let us know  if you need any help in getting started.

Check our  dissertation examples  to get an idea of  how to structure your dissertation .

Review the full list of  dissertation topics here .

List Of Free Dissertation Topics On Literature

• How Has The Rise of Afropolitan Literature Reshaped Identity Discourse
• Digital Storytelling and the Evolution of Narrative Form in the 21st Century
• The Influence of Social Media on the Construction of Authorship and the Literary Sphere
• An Analysis of The Growing Use of AI in Literature
• The Representation of Mental Health in Contemporary Literature and How This Is Breaking Stigma and Fostering Empathy
• Examining the Cultural Significance of Culinary Experiences
• The Evolution of Male Characters in Literature
• Challenges and Ethical Considerations in Bringing Literature Across Borders
• A Comprehensive Analysis of the Role of Satire and Irony in Literature
• The Convergence of Fantasy and Dystopian Literature

Literature Dissertation Topics To Help You Get Started

Topic 1: impact of the second language barrier on the social integration of immigrants- a case of chinese nationals migrating to the uk.

Research Aim: This research proposes an analysis to show the impact of the second language barrier on the social integration of Chinese immigrants in the UK. It will analyse how this barrier affects various segments of their lives by limiting their social interactions. Moreover, it will identify ways (language courses, communal support, financial support, etc.) through which government and civil society help these immigrants overcome this barrier to make them feel included in the UK and play a part in the economy.

Topic 2: The Power of the Writer’s Imagination- A Study Finding the Role of Writer Imagination in the Social Revolution in 19th-Century Europe

Research Aim: This study intends to identify the role of the writer’s imagination in the social revolution in 19 th century Europe. It will show how writers’ imagination is reflected in their writings and how it affects ordinary individuals’ mindsets. It will assess the writings of various authors during the 19 th -century social revolution when Europe replaced the monarchy with democracy. It will show the language used by the authors and its effect on the individuals’ will to achieve democracy.

Topic 3: How Does an Accent Develop? An Exploratory Analysis Finding Factors Shaped Various English Accents in the World- A Case of America, Australia, and India

Research Aim: This research will analyse how an accent develops when a language is imported from one region to the other. It will identify how various factors such as culture, norms, politics, religion, etc., affect accent development. And to show this effect, this research will show how the English accent changed when it came to America, Australia, and India. Moreover, it will indicate whether social resistance in these areas affected the accent or was readily accepted.

Topic 4: “Gender Pronouns and their Usage” a New Debate in the Social Linguistics Literature- A Systematic Review of the Past and Present Debates

Research Aim: This study sheds light on a relatively new debate in politics, sociology, and linguistics, which is how to correctly use gender pronouns in all of these contexts. Therefore, this study will explore these areas, but the main focus will be on linguistics. It will review various theories and frameworks in linguistics to show multiple old and new debates on the subject matter. Moreover, a systematic review will determine the correct usage of gender pronouns.

Topic 5: Are Men Portrayed Better in the English Literature? A Feminist Critique of the Old English Literature

Research Aim: This research will analyse whether men are portrayed better in English literature through a feminist lens. It will assess a different kind of English literature, such as poems, essays, novels, etc., to show whether men are portrayed better than women in various contexts. Moreover, it will analyse multiple classical and modern-day writers to see how they use different male and female characters in their literature. Lastly, it will add a feminist perspective on the subject matter by introducing the feminist theory and its portrayal of men and women.

COVID-19 Literature Research Topics

Topic 1: the scientific literature on the coronavirus pandemic.

Research Aim: This study will review the scientific literature on the Coronavirus pandemic

Topic 2: Literature and the future world after Coronavirus.

Research Aim: This study will reveal the world’s literature predictions after the pandemic.

Topic 3: Coronavirus is a trending topic among the media, writers, and publishers

Research Aim: COVID-19 has disrupted every sector’s health care system and economy. Apart from this, the topic of the Coronavirus has become trending everywhere. This study will highlight whether the information provided about COVID-19 by all the sources is authentic. What kind of misleading information is presented?

Trending Literature Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: dependence of humans on computers.

Research Aim: This research aims to study the dependence of humans on the computer, its advantages and disadvantages.

Topic 2: Whether or not the death penalty is effective in the current era?

Research Aim: This research aims to identify whether the death penalty is effective in the current era.

Topic 3: Fashion Industry and its impact on people's upward and downward social perception

Research Aim: This research aims to identify the impact on people’s upward and downward social perception

Topic 4: Communication gaps in families due to the emergence of social media

Research Aim: This research aims to address the communication gaps in families due to the emergence of social media and suggest possible ways to overcome them.

Topic 5: Employment and overtime working hours- a comparative study

Research Aim: This research aims to measure the disadvantages of overtime working hours of employees.

Topic 6: Machine translators Vs. human translators

Research Aim: This research aims to conduct a comparative study of machine translators and human translators

Topic 7: Freelancing Vs 9 to 5 jobs- a comparative study

Research Aim: This research aims to compare freelancing jobs with 9 to 5 jobs.

More Literature Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: the effects of everyday use of digital media on youth in the uk..

Research Aim: Digital media is a normal part of a person’s life. In this research, the aim is to examine and analyse; how young people between the ages of 15-25 in the UK engage with digital media. The study includes the amount of time interaction occurs and the role of time-space, time elasticities, and online/offline intersections.

Topic 2: Critical analysis of the teenager protagonist in “The Room on the Roof” written by Ruskin Bond.

Research Aim: Many Indian writers and children’s book authors regard Ruskin Bond as an icon. This research will systematically study the alienated teenage protagonist in Ruskin’s “The Room on the Roof” and how Ruskin evolved the character gradually throughout the novel. The way Ruskin used this protagonist to reflect his feelings and convey them to the reader.

Topic 3: Promotion of women empowerment through mass media in Nepal.

Research Aim: The primary purpose of this study is to analyse the role of mass media, including audio, print, and audio-visual, in the empowerment of women in the Nepal region. It also discusses the development of mass media in Nepal and spreading awareness of women’s empowerment.

How Can ResearchProspect Help?

ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service , which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions , literature review , methodology , expected results , and conclusion . The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service !

Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Literature Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: eighteenth-century british literature..

Research Aim: This study aims to study the evolution of modern British literature compared to eighteenth-century literature. This research will focus on the genre of comedy only. The research will discuss the causes of laughter in the eighteenth century compared to things that cause laughter in modern times.

Topic 5: A systematic study of Chaucer’s Miller’s tale.

Research Aim: This research aims to take a closer look at Chaucer’s heavily censored story, “The Miller’s Tale.” It seeks to look at why “The Miller’s Tale” is criticised and categorised as obscene and unfit for a general read. The study will analyse the writer’s writing style, language, and method for the research paper.

Topic 3: Understanding 17th-century English culture using a model of Francis Bacon’s idea.

Research Aim: This research aims to take a more in-depth look into Francis Bacon’s idea of modern economic development. To conduct the study, machine learning processes will be implemented to examine Francis’s ideas and their implementations in contemporary times.

Topic 4: The relation between early 18th-century English plays and The emerging financial market.

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the relationship between eighteenth-century plays and a flourishing financial market. Most theatrical plays were written and performed in the middle of the 1720s, but writing carried out contributed to the financial market.

Topic 5: Issues of climate change used in early English literature: Shakespeare’s View of the sky.

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse climate change’s impact on early English writings. Climatic issues were faced even in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, providing writers with another topic to add to their published work. This research will focus on the work of Shakespeare, in which he included the specifics of climate change.

Also Read: Medicine and Nursing Dissertation Topics Free

Nineteenth-Century Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: impact of nineteenth-century gothic vampire literature on female members of the gothic subculture..

Research Aim: This research will look at the introduction of gothic vampire literature and its impact on female members of the gothic subculture. It includes a complete analysis of writing style and the impression it left of the female readers’.

Topic 2: Women theatre managers and the theatre in the late nineteenth century.

Research Aim: This research aims to view the impact on theatres under the management of women theatre managers. The improvement to theatre shows, along with the hardships faced by some managers, is discussed. The proposed study analyses the categories of theatre plays.

Topic 3: The history of American literature.

Research Aim: This research aims to give a brief history of American literature’s development and evolution throughout the centuries. The timeline begins from the early 15th century to the late 19th century. Word variations, sentence structures, grammar, and written impressions will be analysed.

Topic 4: “New women” concept in the novels of Victorian age English writers.

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse women’s position in the early nineteenth and how later Victorian writers used their work to give women a new identity. The method employed by these writers who wrote from a feminist point of view will also be discussed.

Topic 5: Discussing the role of the writer in their own story.

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the form in which the writer reveals their presence to the reader. The methods can be achieved directly or use the characters to replace themselves in the narrative. The study observes the phrases, vocabulary, and situations the writer uses to narrate.

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Twentieth Century Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: effect of gender association in modern literature..

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the issue of gender association in twentieth-century literature. Currently, male characters are described in a more masculine term than before in comparison to female counterparts. This research will also explore the possible approach to the possible characterisation of the two genders.

Topic 2: Feminism and literature.

Research Aim: This research aims to analyse the impacts of feminism on modern English literature quality. The study will look into the ideology of feminism and how feminist thoughts impact the readers’ views.

Topic 3: Modern literature based on climate change and eco-themes.

Research Aim: This research will study the various works of writers who tackled climate change and other eco-themes in their work. The study discusses the way they portrayed the item along with their views on preventing climate change. Modern work is compared to the work of previous writers who wrote about climate change.

Topic 4: How are fathers portrayed in modern literature?

Research Aim: This research will study the role of fathers in modern literature. The way the father character is portrayed in recent times has changed compared to writing in the early centuries. This research will look into the evolution of the father figure over time.

Topic 5: Literature for Asian American children.

Research Aim: This research will examine the fusion of classic American literature and Asian literature for children. The different genera’s that are produced and the style of writing will be analysed.

Also Read: Free Law Dissertation Topics

Children’s Literature Dissertation Topics

Topic 1: the influence of the intersection of race and bullying in children’s books..

Research Aim: This research will analyse the literature made for children from 2015 to 2019 in which the intersection between race and bullying is made. The study will evaluate the impact of literature read by a child in which there is bullying. Various picture books are analysed to observe the influence of racism on bullying.

Topic 2: Diversity of culture in children’s literature.

Research Aim: This research will observe the influence of the various cultural aspects of children’s books. The study will analyse the impact of mixed cultures on literature in a community and how it affects children’s mindsets from a young age.

Topic 3: The use of literature to shape a child's mind.

Research Aim: This research will analyse the effects of literature on a child’s mind. Behaviour, intelligence, and interactions between children and their age fellows are to be observed. A child’s behaviour with adults will also be analysed.

Topic 4: Evolution of children's literature.

Research Aim: This research will explore the change in children’s literature trends. This research will compare the literary work from the mid-nineteen century with modern-day children’s books. Differences in vocabulary, sentence structure, and mode of storytelling will be examined.

Topic 5: Racial discrimination in “the cat in the hat” impacts children’s racial views.

Research Aim: This research will take an in-depth analysis of the children’s story, “The Cat in the Hat,” to observe if it has any racial remarks which cause an increase in racism among children. The words used and the pictures found on the page will be thoroughly analysed, and their impact on the children reading it.

Topic 6: Measuring the nature of a child’s early composing.

Research Aim: This research will analyse the development of a child’s writing skills based on the type of books they read. The book’s genera, vocabulary, and the writing style of the child’s preferred book will be considered.

Topic 7: Use of a classroom to incorporate multicultural children’s literature.

Research Aim: This research will reflect on the potential use of a school classroom to promote multicultural literature for children. Since a classroom is filled with children of different cultural backgrounds, it becomes easier to introduce multicultural literature. The difficulties and the advantages to society in the incorporation of multicultural literature in classrooms are discussed.

Important Notes:

As literature looking to get good grades, it is essential to develop new ideas and experiment with existing literature theories – i.e., to add value and interest to your research topic.

The literature field is vast and interrelated to many other academic disciplines like linguistics , English literature and more. That is why creating a literature dissertation topic that is particular, sound, and actually solves a practical problem that may be rampant in the field is imperative.

We can’t stress how important it is to develop a logical research topic based on your entire research. There are several significant downfalls to getting your topic wrong; your supervisor may not be interested in working on it, the topic has no academic creditability, the research may not make logical sense, and there is a possibility that the study is not viable.

This impacts your time and efforts in writing your dissertation , as you may end up in a cycle of rejection at the initial stage of the dissertation. That is why we recommend reviewing existing research to develop a topic, taking advice from your supervisor, and even asking for help in this particular stage of your dissertation.

While developing a research topic, keeping our advice in mind will allow you to pick one of the best literature dissertation topics that fulfil your requirement of writing a research paper and add to the body of knowledge.

Therefore, it is recommended that when finalising your dissertation topic, you read recently published literature to identify gaps in the research that you may help fill.

Remember- dissertation topics need to be unique, solve an identified problem, be logical, and be practically implemented. Please look at some of our sample literature dissertation topics to get an idea for your own dissertation.

How to Structure Your Literature Dissertation

A well-structured dissertation can help students to achieve a high overall academic grade.

• A Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration
• Abstract: A summary of the research completed
• Table of Contents
• Introduction : This chapter includes the project rationale, research background, key research aims and objectives, and the research problems. An outline of the structure of a dissertation can also be added to this chapter.
• Literature Review : This chapter presents relevant theories and frameworks by analysing published and unpublished literature on the chosen research topic to address research questions . The purpose is to highlight and discuss the selected research area’s relative weaknesses and strengths whilst identifying any research gaps. Break down the topic and key terms that can positively impact your dissertation and your tutor.
• Methodology : The data collection and analysis methods and techniques employed by the researcher are presented in the Methodology chapter, which usually includes research design , research philosophy, research limitations, code of conduct, ethical consideration, data collection methods, and data analysis strategy .
• Findings and Analysis : Findings of the research are analysed in detail under the Findings and Analysis chapter. All key findings/results are outlined in this chapter without interpreting the data or drawing any conclusions. It can be useful to include graphs, charts, and tables in this chapter to identify meaningful trends and relationships.
• Discussion and Conclusion : The researcher presents his interpretation of results in this chapter and states whether the research hypothesis has been verified or not. An essential aspect of this section of the paper is to link the results and evidence from the literature. Recommendations with regard to the implications of the findings and directions for the future may also be provided. Finally, a summary of the overall research, along with final judgments, opinions, and comments, must be included in the form of suggestions for improvement.
• References : Your University’s requirements should complete this
• Bibliography
• Appendices : Any additional information, diagrams, and graphs used to complete the dissertation but not part of the dissertation should be included in the Appendices chapter. Essentially, the purpose is to expand the information/data.

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What are some good literature dissertation topics.

• Representation of war in classic literature
• Gender roles in Shakespearean comedies
• Role of women during wars in classic literature
• Use of symbolism in romantic poetry

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English Literature Research Paper Topics

This guide, centered on English literature research paper topics , serves as a comprehensive resource for students seeking to delve deep into the diverse epochs, authors, and themes that have shaped English literary tradition. Navigating the intricate tapestry of English literature offers scholars a multitude of avenues for exploration. From the mystique of medieval tales to the introspective narratives of modernism, this guide not only provides a plethora of English literature research paper topics but also offers insights on choosing the ideal topic, structuring the research paper, and harnessing the unmatched writing services of iResearchNet. Dive in to unravel the rich heritage of English literature and discover the myriad opportunities it presents for academic exploration.

100 English Literature Research Paper Topics

Diving into English literature is like embarking on a journey through time and culture. From ancient ballads to modernist narratives, it offers a vast panorama of themes, styles, and societal reflections. Below is a comprehensive list of English literature research paper topics spanning across different eras and genres:

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Medieval Literature

• The significance of chivalry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight .
• The Christian and Pagan elements in Beowulf .
• Courtly love in The Knight’s Tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales .
• Dream visions in Pearl and Piers Plowman .
• The role of fate and providence in The Consolation of Philosophy .
• The art of storytelling in The Decameron vs. The Canterbury Tales .
• The Seven Deadly Sins in Everyman .
• The evolution of the English language: Old English vs. Middle English.
• Religious allegory in The Second Shepherd’s Play .
• Women and femininity in the Lais of Marie de France .

Renaissance and Elizabethan Age

• Shakespeare’s portrayal of power in Macbeth .
• Love and beauty in Sonnet 18 .
• The idea of the “New World” in The Tempest .
• The virtues in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene .
• Magic and science in Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe.
• The pastoral settings of As You Like It .
• The politics of gender in Twelfth Night .
• Revenge and madness in Hamlet .
• John Donne’s metaphysical poetry and its innovation.
• The darker side of the Renaissance: The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

The Restoration and the 18th Century

• The satirical world of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels .
• Class struggles in Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders .
• Alexander Pope’s critique of society in The Rape of the Lock .
• Aphra Behn and the emergence of the woman writer.
• The wit and wisdom of Samuel Johnson’s essays.
• The rise of the novel: Richardson vs. Fielding.
• Sentimentality and society in Sterne’s Tristram Shandy .
• Politics and plays: John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera .
• Women, education, and literature: Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas.
• The mock-heroic in English literature.

Romantic Period

• Nature and transcendence in Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey .
• The Byronic hero in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage .
• Shelley’s Ozymandias and the ephemeral nature of power.
• The Gothic romance of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights .
• George Gordon Lord Byron and the Romantic antihero.
• The visionary world of William Blake’s poems.
• The exotic and the familiar in Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
• Keats’s exploration of beauty and mortality.
• The industrial revolution’s reflection in literature.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the dangers of ambition.

Victorian Era

• Charles Dickens and his critique of Victorian society.
• The challenges of morality in Thomas Hardy’s novels.
• The bildungsroman in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre .
• The plight of women in George Eliot’s Middlemarch .
• Oscar Wilde’s wit and irony in The Importance of Being Earnest .
• The debate on science and religion in In Memoriam A.H.H by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
• The mystery and suspense of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories.
• The “Woman Question” in Victorian literature.
• The realism of Anthony Trollope’s Chronicles of Barsetshire.
• Gothic elements in Dracula by Bram Stoker.
• The fragmented narrative of Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse .
• T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and the disillusionment of the post-war era.
• The struggles of the working class in D.H. Lawrence’s novels.
• The impact of World War I on English poetry.
• James Joyce’s revolutionary narrative techniques in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man .
• E.M. Forster’s exploration of social and racial themes.
• The critique of colonialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness .
• W.B. Yeats and the Irish literary revival.
• The emergence of the stream-of-consciousness technique.
• The Jazz Age and decadence in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The Gothic Tradition

• Origins of Gothic fiction: Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto .
• The supernatural and macabre in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
• Ann Radcliffe’s influence on the Gothic novel.
• The role of the Byronic hero in The Vampyre by John Polidori.
• Duality of human nature in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde .
• The haunting atmospheres in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
• Gender and sexuality in Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu.
• Edgar Allan Poe’s influence on English Gothic literature.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker: Themes of sexuality and fear of the unknown.
• The Gothic novel as a reflection of societal fears and anxieties.

The Angry Young Men Era

• Social criticism in John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger .
• Exploring masculinity in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe.
• The disillusionment of post-war Britain in The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner .
• The class struggle in Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim .
• Existential themes in John Wain’s Hurry on Down .
• Feminine perspectives in the era: Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey .
• The critique of academia in The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury.
• The Angry Young Men and their influence on modern theater.
• The transformation of British literature in the 1950s and 1960s.
• The lasting legacy of the Angry Young Men movement in contemporary literature.

Postmodern British Literature

• Metafiction in Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot .
• The playfulness of language in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses .
• Intertextuality in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit .
• The fragmented narrative in Graham Swift’s Waterland .
• Reality and fiction in Ian McEwan’s Atonement .
• Gender and postcolonial themes in Angela Carter’s The Passion of New Eve .
• The exploration of identity in Zadie Smith’s White Teeth .
• The deconstruction of traditional narrative in Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
• Postmodern gothic in The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
• Magical realism in The Porcelain Doll by Julian Barnes.

Contemporary English Literature

• The multicultural London in Brick Lane by Monica Ali.
• Exploring family dynamics in On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
• The concept of time in Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam .
• The role of history in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall .
• The exploration of love and loss in Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending .
• Postcolonial Britain in Andrea Levy’s Small Island .
• The challenges of modern life in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity .
• The evolution of the English detective novel: Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories .
• The legacy of the British Empire in The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.
• The digital age and its influence on literature: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon.

English literature boasts a rich and varied tapestry of themes, periods, and genres. This comprehensive list is a testament to the dynamism and depth of the field, offering a myriad of research avenues for students. As they venture into each topic, they can appreciate the nuances and complexities that have shaped the literary tradition, making it an invaluable component of global culture and heritage.

English Literature and the Range of Topics It Offers

English literature, encompassing the vast historical, cultural, and artistic legacy of writings in the English language, boasts a rich tapestry of narratives, characters, and stylistic innovations. From the earliest Old English epic poems to the reflective and multifaceted postmodern novels, English literature offers an expansive array of topics for analysis, discussion, and research. The depth and breadth of this literary tradition are mirrored by the diverse range of English literature research paper topics it can inspire.

The Medieval Foundation

Diving into the early origins of English literature, we encounter works like Beowulf , an Old English epic poem of heroism, fate, and the struggle against malevolent forces. Medieval English literature, characterized by religious texts, chivalric romances, and philosophical treatises, sets the stage for the evolution of narrative styles and thematic explorations. The rich allegorical narratives, like Piers Plowman or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , present intricate societal and spiritual commentaries that still resonate with readers today. These works invite inquiries into the socio-religious dynamics of medieval England, the evolution of the English language, and the literary techniques employed.

Renaissance and Enlightenment: A Burst of Creativity

The Renaissance and Elizabethan Age saw the emergence of revered playwrights like William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, whose dramas, whether tragedies, comedies, or histories, plumbed the depths of human emotion, politics, and existence. The genius of Shakespeare’s Hamlet or Othello , juxtaposed against Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus , provides a fertile ground for investigating themes of ambition, betrayal, love, and existential angst. Moreover, with poets like Edmund Spenser and his epic The Faerie Queene , English literature expanded its horizons, both thematically and stylistically.

The subsequent Restoration and the 18th century ushered in a period of social and literary change. With authors like Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, satire became a powerful tool to critique society and politics. Furthermore, the emergence of the novel, as exemplified by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela , offered researchers a chance to explore the evolving societal values, gender norms, and narrative techniques.

Romanticism, Victorian Era to Modernism: A Spectrum of Emotion and Thought

The Romantic period, marked by poets like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats, celebrated nature, emotion, and individualism. In contrast, the Victorian era, with novelists like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and the Brontë sisters, addressed societal change, morality, and industrialization. Both periods are a goldmine for English literature research paper topics around the individual vs. society, the role of nature, and the exploration of the self.

Modernism in English literature, with heavyweights like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and T.S. Eliot, revolutionized narrative structure and thematic depth. Works from this era, such as To the Lighthouse or The Waste Land , demand analysis on fragmented narrative, stream of consciousness, and the introspective exploration of the human psyche.

Contemporary Reflections

Contemporary English literature, shaped by postcolonial, feminist, and postmodern influences, gives voice to a plethora of perspectives. Authors like Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, and Julian Barnes tackle issues of identity, multiculturalism, history, and reality versus fiction. Such works present a plethora of avenues for research, from analyzing the postcolonial identity in Rushdie’s narratives to the intricate tapestries of familial and societal dynamics in Smith’s novels.

Concluding Thoughts

In essence, English literature is an evolving entity, reflecting and shaping societal, cultural, and individual values and challenges over the centuries. For students and researchers, the wealth of English literature research paper topics it offers ranges from historical and linguistic analyses to deep dives into thematic cores and stylistic innovations. Whether one wishes to explore the chivalric codes of medieval romances, the biting satires of the 18th century, the emotional landscapes of Romanticism, or the fragmented realities of postmodern narratives, English literature provides an inexhaustible reservoir of research opportunities.

How to Choose an English Literature Topic

Choosing a research paper topic, especially within the expansive field of English literature, can be a challenging endeavor. The centuries-spanning literature offers a treasure trove of stories, themes, characters, and socio-political contexts that beckon exhaustive exploration. As such, students often find themselves at a crossroads, wondering where to begin and how to narrow down their choices to find that one compelling topic. Here’s a detailed guide to streamline this process:

• Align with Your Interests: Dive into periods, genres, or authors that genuinely intrigue you. If Victorian novels captivate your imagination or if Shakespearean dramas resonate with you, use that as your starting point. Genuine interest ensures sustained motivation throughout your research journey.
• Evaluate Academic Relevance: While personal interest is vital, ensure your chosen topic aligns with academic goals and curriculum requirements. Some English literature research paper topics, while intriguing, might not offer substantial academic value for a particular course or level of study.
• Seek Familiar Ground (But Not Too Familiar): Leverage your previous readings and coursework. Familiarity offers a foundation, but challenge yourself to explore uncharted territories within that domain. If you enjoyed Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice , maybe delve into its feminist interpretations or comparative studies with other contemporaneous works.
• Embrace Complexity: Opt for English literature research paper topics that lend themselves to multifaceted exploration. Simple topics might not provide enough depth for comprehensive research papers. Instead of a general overview of Romantic poetry, explore the portrayal of nature in Wordsworth’s works versus Shelley’s.
• Historical and Cultural Context: Literature isn’t created in a vacuum. Understand the historical and societal backdrop of a literary work. This context can offer a fresh perspective and can be an excellent lens for your research.
• Contemporary Relevance: How does a particular work or literary period converse with today’s world? Exploring the modern implications or relevance of classic works can be both enlightening and academically rewarding.
• Diverse Interpretations: Embrace English literature research paper topics open to various interpretations. Works like George Orwell’s 1984 or Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot can be analyzed from political, psychological, existential, or linguistic viewpoints.
• Consult with Peers and Professors: Engage in discussions with classmates and seek advice from professors. Their feedback can provide new perspectives or refine your existing topic ideas.
• Read Critiques and Literary Journals: Academic journals, critiques, and literary analyses offer insights into popular research areas and can help you identify gaps or lesser-explored aspects of a work or period.
• Flexibility is Key: As you delve deeper into your research, be open to tweaking or even changing your topic. New findings or challenges might necessitate slight shifts in your research focus.

Choosing the right research topic in English literature requires a blend of personal passion, academic relevance, and the potential for in-depth exploration. By aligning your interests with academic goals, and being open to exploration and adaptation, you pave the way for a fulfilling and academically enriching research experience. Remember, the journey of researching and understanding literature can be as enlightening as the end result. Embrace the process, and let the vast ocean of English literature inspire and challenge you.

How to Write an English Literature Research Paper

Penning an English literature research paper is a task that demands meticulous planning, a deep understanding of the subject, and the ability to weave thoughts coherently. English literature, with its vast and rich tapestry, offers endless avenues for exploration, making it both an exciting and daunting endeavor. Below are step-by-step guidelines to craft a compelling research paper in this domain:

• Understanding the Assignment: Before diving into the research phase, ensure you fully understand the assignment’s requirements. Is there a specific format? Are certain sources mandatory? What’s the word count? This foundational clarity sets the stage for efficient research and writing.
• Preliminary Research: Start with a broad exploration of your topic. Read general articles, introductory chapters, or review papers. This will give you a general overview and can help narrow down your focus.
• Thesis Statement Formulation: Your thesis is the backbone of your research paper. It should be clear, precise, and arguable. For instance, instead of writing “Shakespeare’s plays are influential,” you might specify, “ Macbeth illustrates the dire consequences of unchecked ambition.”
• Diving Deeper – Detailed Research: With your thesis in hand, dive deeper into primary (original texts) and secondary sources (critiques, essays). Libraries, academic databases, and literary journals are treasure troves of valuable information.
• Organize Your Findings: Use digital tools, index cards, or notebooks to categorize and annotate your findings. Grouping similar ideas together will make the writing process smoother.
• Drafting an Outline: An organized structure is essential for clarity. Create an outline with clear headings and subheadings, ensuring a logical flow of ideas. This will serve as a roadmap as you write.
• Introduction Crafting: Your introduction should be engaging, offering a glimpse of your thesis and the significance of your study. Remember, first impressions count!
• Literary Analysis: Delve into the text’s intricacies – symbols, themes, character development, stylistic devices, and historical context.
• Critiques and Counter-arguments: Discuss various interpretations of the text, and don’t shy away from addressing dissenting views. This lends credibility and depth to your paper.
• Comparative Analysis (if applicable): Compare the chosen work with others, drawing parallels or highlighting contrasts.
• Maintaining Coherence and Transition: Each paragraph should have a clear main idea and transition smoothly to the next, maintaining the paper’s flow and ensuring the reader’s engagement.
• Conclusion Crafting: Reiterate your thesis and summarize your main findings. Discuss the broader implications of your study, potentially suggesting areas for further exploration.
• Citing Your Sources: Always attribute ideas and quotations to their original authors. Depending on the assigned format (MLA, APA, etc.), ensure that in-text citations and the bibliography are correctly formatted.
• Revision and Proofreading: Once your draft is complete, take a break before revisiting it. Read it aloud to catch awkward phrasings. Check for grammatical errors, consistency in argumentation, and clarity in presenting ideas. Consider seeking peer reviews or utilizing editing tools.
• Seek Feedback: Before final submission, consider sharing your paper with a mentor, professor, or knowledgeable peer. Their insights can be invaluable in refining your research paper.

Writing an English literature research paper is as much an art as it is a science. While meticulous research and structured writing are crucial, allowing your passion for literature to shine through will elevate your paper. Remember, literature is about exploring the human experience, and as you dissect these masterpieces, you’re not just analyzing texts but delving into profound insights about life, society, and humanity. Embrace the journey, and let every step, from research to writing, be a process of discovery.

iResearchNet Writing Services for Custom English Literature Research Paper

For any student of English literature, the voyage through various eras, authors, and their imaginative universes is both exhilarating and overwhelming. Each period, from the mystical narratives of the Middle Ages to the raw modernism of the 20th century, has its distinctive character, themes, and voices. However, writing a research paper on such vast and diverseEnglish literature research paper topics can be challenging. This is where iResearchNet steps in, bridging the gap between intricate literary exploration and top-notch academic writing.

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At iResearchNet, our primary goal is to support and elevate your academic journey in English literature. With a blend of profound literary knowledge and impeccable writing skills, we bring to life the narratives, themes, and voices of the past and present. So, whether you’re venturing into the allegorical world of The Faerie Queene or analyzing the post-colonial undertones in Wide Sargasso Sea , with iResearchNet, you’re not just getting a paper; you’re obtaining a piece of scholarly art.

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English literature, a tapestry woven with tales of heroism, love, tragedy, and introspection, spans over centuries, capturing the essence of an evolving nation and its people. From the ethereal romance of the Arthurian legends to the stark realism of the 20th century, the literary works of England are a testament to the country’s rich cultural and historical legacy.

But as profound and diverse as English literature is, the challenge lies in understanding its nuances, interpreting its layers, and articulating insights in a coherent and captivating manner. That’s where the journey often becomes daunting for many students. But what if this journey could become less overwhelming and more enlightening?

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180 English Literature Dissertation Ideas To Try

The task of coming up with top-grade English dissertation ideas is no mean feat. Although most students underpin such studies, the fact remains that professional assistance is necessary to achieve the best out of such assignments.

An English literature paper will require a student to incorporate creative and critical thinking skills for maximum productivity. Are you one of those who get turned off at the sight of an English dissertation paper? Well, my friend, you have a unique opportunity to change that mindset today! With our top-notch writing ideas, you will be able to develop undisputed English literature papers that will guarantee you high grades in return.

Get ready as our experts unleash 180 of the cream topics for your inspiration today.

Creative British English Dissertation Ideas

• Write about a cozy spot you enjoy at home
• How to describe the physical appearance of a person in an essay
• Interesting words to say ‘hello’ in a British paper
• Discuss the impact of using informal contractions in a British English paper
• What are some of the advisable internet slang and abbreviations to use in a paper?
• How to introduce an essay on a horrible experience.’
• Ways to say ‘I don’t like it’s in a British English paper
• How to ask someone to repeat something in British English
• Verbs and prepositions that make an English paper stand out
• Other ways to say ‘you are so beautiful’ in British English
• Why most students have a problem differentiating British and American English

Top-Notch Dissertation Topics In English Literature

• A closer look at the poetry of William Shakespeare
• The impact of the first literary explorers in shaping literary imagination
• The role of visions of nature in the 17 th century poetical works
• Discuss the origins of the English novels and short plays
• How and why did fiction stories develop over the centuries?
• The impact of the renaissance period on the development of literature
• Discuss the effects of secularization on the individual view of life
• The role of the radical scientific advancement on literary works
• Discuss the implications of the 19 th -century literature to modern-day works
• The themes of love and loss in traditional literature
• A study of the micro and macro literary themes of the ancient literary works

Hot English Literature Dissertation Topics

• Discuss the interplay between sex and violence in sensational fiction works
• The role of politics in changing literature of the 18 th century
• Discuss the concept of gender representation in the gothic novel
• Evaluate the emergence of realism among literature writers in the 19 th century
• How romance shaped the growth of literature among British writers
• The impact of science fiction on English literature
• The emergence of postmodernism and the events that transformed literature
• The relationship between psychology, philosophy, and literature
• Evaluate visionary closure as seen in the 19 th -century novels
• Comprehending water imagery in the works of Virginia Woolf
• A study of time and space in ancient literary works

The Best English Literature Dissertation Titles

• Discuss the notion of being in the modern literary works
• A study of character and identity the works of Leonardo da Vinci
• What is the implication of magic and fantasy in ancient works?
• Discuss the similarities and differences between modernism and postmodernism
• How literary studies interrelate with other subjects
• Interpreting the literature of the 21 st century
• The role of philosophy in understanding and interpreting literature
• Why changing political relations had a gross impact on literature
• Discuss the implication of Darwin and his evolutionary narrative to literature
• What is the new relationship between poetry and painting?
• The role of print culture and mass distribution in advancing literary works

World-Class Literature Dissertation Writing Ideas

• How authors use landscape as a source of literary inspiration
• Describe how most authors portrayed the rural-urban divide
• Why is the concept of place so crucial in romantic literary works?
• Analyze the correlation between nature, narrative, and literature
• How do the descriptions of Africa differ from those of the West?
• The impact of globalization on promoting and inspiring literature
• Who determines what literature is appropriate for society or not?
• A discussion of the features that make an Epic
• The use of imagery in communicating crime and violence
• What is the function of animals in children’s literature?
• The unmatchable role of humor in children’s literature

Top English Literature Dissertation Ideas

• What is the critical role of names in any literary work?
• Why storybooks are the most acceptable form of literature among children
• The importance and social contexts of various literary works
• How disability is represented in modern and ancient literature
• The effects of everyday use of social media on literacy levels
• A critical analysis of the promotion of women empowerment through literary works
• Discuss the evolution of modern literature compared to 18 th -century literature
• A systematic study of ancient literature writers
• The relationship between early 17 th century plays and emerging plays
• How climate change has contributed to modern literature
• The impact of feminist movements on contemporary literary works

Example Dissertation Titles on Gender

• Discuss the history of British and American literature on gender
• Discuss the ‘new women’ concept among modern literature writers
• What role does the writer play in his/her own story?
• Why gender affiliations affect the overall thought of a literary work
• Discuss the characterization of the male and female genders
• Evaluate the circulation of feministic literary works as compared to the patriarchal works
• Explore the various myths and misconceptions associated with literature and gender
• Analyze the issue of gender association in the 20 th -century literature
• The impact of women theatre managers on literary works performed
• Discuss the writing styles and impression of gender-based literary works
• Look at the role of the female members of the Gothic subculture in literature

Out-of-the-World Ideas For Dissertation Topics

• Analyze the various 20 th -century representations of Black males
• The globalizing nature of modern literary works
• The emerging logic of the Public Sphere in writing
• Discuss the poetics, rhetoric, and social struggle of select literary works
• How the politics of feeling and belonging affects the effectiveness of literature
• Discuss the colonial and postcolonial differences in American fiction
• A critical analysis of the national and continental writing styles
• Developing an interactive literature audience through the internet
• How to write for social action: A case study of activism
• Discuss the impact of racial discrimination on the development of literary works
• How to register for the local and global audience at the same time

Custom English Language Dissertation Ideas

• The characterizations of womanhood in modern-day literature
• A critical analysis of the characters in a play of your choice
• The extent to which literary works shape the reality of today
• Discuss the aspects of nationalism and regionalism within novels
• Analyze various forms of historical fiction and their impact on today’s society
• Compare and contrast romantic, historical fiction, and recessionary pressures
• Techniques used to bring a sense of place in ancient literature
• Changing approaches to imagery in modern literary works
• The impact of living in a media-oriented world on the success of literature
• The aspects of history and sociology in analyzing literary works
• An analysis of the roles of blindness and nature Shakespeare’s classical works

Professional Examples of Dissertation Titles

• A comparison of John Donne’s metaphysical love poems and sermons
• Discuss the undisputed value of text speech in literature
• Compare and contrast the literature in Marxists versus communist societies
• The role of gender and patriarchy stereotyping in literature
• A comparative study of the various themes displayed in Shakespeare’s works
• An evaluation of the use of plot and characters in plays
• The impact of discriminatory attitudes towards other marginalized sectors in literary works
• Do literary works depict the contemporary reality of any society?
• The role of literature in controversial issues such as homosexuality and abortion
• The role of clowns in comic literary works
• An exploration of the facets of evil in highly controlled societies

Dissertation Titles For ‘A’ Grade Students

• Explore the various genres used in college literature
• The reception of the 19 th -century novels by academicians and the public alike
• How the understanding of literary works affects our modern-day perspective of life
• An analysis of abortion in literature
• Discuss the ever-changing role of women in modern literary works
• Why some literary works are appealing to adults and children alike
• The growth of feminism in the 21 st -century literature
• How did Milton’s Paradise Lost affect 17 th -century literature?
• The critical role of imagination in any work of literature
• How accurate is history in various historical novels?
• The role of J.K. Rowling to modern-day literature

Literature Based Dissertation Example Topics

• A rhetorical analysis of American and British literature
• How to achieve creative writing for college literature papers
• The role of place and culture in novels and plays
• Why dramatic memoirs are efficient in illustrating grief and love
• The influence of other disciplines on the study of literature
• Discuss the subject of love in medieval romance
• A close textual analysis of modern-day authors
• The role of pros poems centered around death in communicating loss
• How to narrate colonialism and slavery in the expansion of capitalism
• Critique the American literary naturalism and the aesthetic of integration
• The role of short stories in communicating themes

Expert Thesis Topics in English Literature

• Effects of representation of class and nation in women’s writing
• Discuss the various multi-ethnic literature in the UK
• A study of the medieval European romances
• Evaluate some of the stories that queer kids tell themselves
• Analyze multimodal composition and digital technology
• An examination of the old English literature
• How to expand the theoretical and instructional frameworks for literature
• An investigation of American Yogi
• An interrogation of death in literature
• Explorations of the Bible
• Why does there exist an intimate debate between the reader and the work?

Thesis Topics For English Literature Students

• Explore the various essay writing styles
• The impact of literature on life decisions
• Confronting social issues using literature
• How we can use literature to deal with grief and loss
• The psychology of reading novels in the afternoon
• Discuss the modalities of material culture in religious narratives
• An examination of sexuality in modern literature
• How different people respond to literary works
• The role of poems in exploring culture and history
• Dealing with racism and poverty using literary works
• The media and proliferation of literature

British Lit Research Paper Topics

• Is memory all that matters when composing a literary work?
• A discourse of gender and race in British literature papers
• Poetic and economic interpretations of the Great Revolt of 1381
• Stigma and subjectivity in British works
• Discuss politics, aesthetics, and the urban space in postcolonial British literature
• The innovative perspective of British Literature
• Discuss the similarities between British Literature and American literature
• Survey the various perspectives of humanity contemporary British literature
• The English imperial selfhood in British literature
• Discuss female education and reading of the 18 th century British novels
• Considering the sublime through the late 19 th century, British works
• Reconfiguration of British literary works
• Discuss female subjectivity in British literature
• A case study of early books in the UK
• Experimental narrative structures in Britain

First-Class English Literature Topics

• Role of symbolism in literature
• Love in literature
• Traditions in literature
• Melancholy as used in poetry
• How each genre tells a story
• Allusions in novels
• Gender roles in literature
• Historical background of plays
• Religion and novels
• Critiquing a novel
• Psychological realism in literature

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Department of English

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Graduate Thesis Examples

The subjects of MA theses have included studies of individual poets or dramatists, novelists or autobiographers, as well as explorations of literary movements, themes or periods. View our more recent titles below.

Our Recent Titles:

• “The Bottom and the Orchard: Where Space and Place are Created, Controlled, and Maintained in  Sula  and  Recitatif ” (2024 Anyabwile)
• “The Great (Genre) Escape” (2024 Perrin)
• “Modality and Sociality in Elizabeth Gaskell’s  Cranford ” (2024 Perry)
• “‘Don’t Question the Experts’: Autistic Autobiographies, Expert Paratexts, and Epistemic Injustice” (2024 Thompson)
• “Preracial Panem: Understanding Racial Identity in Suzanne Collins’s  The Hunger Games  Trilogy and Prequel  The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ” (2024 Wooten)
• “Parts of the Story: An Illustrated Short Story Collection” (2023 Beal)
• “‘What lady wouldn’t wish to join causes with women who stood up for other women?’: Heroines’ Rivalries and Friendships in Popular Romance Novels” (2023 Bradford)
• “Breaking Away: Some Essays on Influence” (2023 Ferrer)
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• “‘Widen the Lens and See’: Poetry, Photography, and the Act of Witness in Muriel Rukeyser’s ‘The Book of the Dead’” (2023 Marlow)
• “Engaging Secondary Students Through Secondary Worlds: An Approach to Teaching Tolkien at the High School Level” (2022 Casey)
• “The Religious and the Secular Mythology in  Idylls of the King ” (2022 Kirkendall)
• “‘…A Hideous Monster’: Social Repression and Rebellion in Gregory Corso’s ‘The American Way’” (2022 LeBey)
• “Individualism, Materialism, and Sacrifice in Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ and Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Nightingale’” (2022 Nalbandian)
• “Burying the Carnival” (2022 Overdurf)
• “Attending to Time in Narratives of Enslavement: Temporal Alterities and Lived Experiences of Time in Toni Morrison’s  Beloved ” (2021 Bischoff)
• “‘Beasts who walk alone’: Narrating Queer Abjection in Djuna Barnes’s  Nightwood  and Jordy Rosenberg’s  Confessions of the Fox ” (2021 McGuirk)
• “Reach Out and Touch Faith: Haptic Reciprocity in Milton’s  Paradise Lost ” (2021 Ricks)
• “Gender Matters: Amante’s Gender Construction in Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Grey Woman’” (2021 Willis)
• “Braddon’s Body of Bigamy: A Corpus Stylistics Analysis” (2021 Waxman)
• “‘Memory is all that Matters;’ Queer Latinx Temporality and the Memory-Making Process” (2020 Caicedo)
• “Old Wives’ Tales: Mothers & Daughters, Wives & Witches (Stories)” (2020 Champagne)
• “‘Numbed and Mortified’: Labor, Empathy, and Acquired Disability in  King Lear  and  Titus Andronicus : (2020 Harrington)
• “‘More Forms and Stranger’: Queer Feminism and the Aesthetic of Sapphic Camp (2020 Kennedy)
• “A Discourse and Statistical Approach to Intersections of Gender and Race in Melville’s  Typee ” (2020 Post)
• “Prophetic Un-speaking: The Language of Inheritance and Original Sin in  Paradise Lost  and S alve Deus Rex Judaeorum ” (2019 Darrow)
• “‘The Frame of her Eternal Dream’: From  Thel  to Dreamscapes of Influence” (2019 Gallo)
• “‘The Murmure and the Cherles Rebellying’: Poetic and Economic Interpretations of the Great Revolt of 1381” (2019 Noell)
• “Dialogic Convergences of Spatiality, Racial Identity, and the American Cultural Imagination” (2019 Humphrey)
• “Troubling Vice: Stigma and Subjectivity in Shakespeare’s Ambitious Villains” (2019 Simonson)
• “Beyond Mourning: Afro-Pessimism in Contemporary African American Fiction” (2018 Huggins)
• “‘Harmonized by the earth’: Land, Landscape, and Place in Emily Brontë’s  Wuthering Heights ” (2018 Bevin)
• “(Re)membering the Subject: Nomadic Becoming in Contemporary Chicano/a Literature” (2018 Voelkner)
• “Werewolves: The Outsider on the Inside in Icelandic and French Medieval Literature” (2018 Modugno)
• “Towards Self-Defined Expressions of Black Anger in Claudia Rankine’s  Citizen  and Percival Everett’s  Erasure ” (2018 Razak)
• “Echoes Inhabit the Garden: The Music of Poetry and Place in T.S. Eliot” (2018 Goldsmith)
• “‘Is this what motherhood is?’: Ambivalent Representations of Motherhood in Black Women’s Novels, 1953-2011” (2018 Gotfredson)
• “Movements of Hunters and Pilgrims: Forms of Motion and Thought in  Moby-Dick ,  The Confidence Man , and  Clarel ” (2018 Marcy)
• “Speaking of the Body: The Maternal Body, Race, and Language in the Plays of Cherrie Moraga, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tony Kushner” (2018 King)
• “Passing as Jewish: The Material Consequences of Race and the Property of Whiteness in Late Twentieth-Century Passing Novels” (2017 Mullis)
• “Eliot through Tolkien: Estrangement, Verse Drama, and the Christian Path in the Modern Era” (2017 Reynolds)
• “Aesthetics, Politics, and the Urban Space in Postcolonial British Literature” (2017 Rahmat)
• “Models of Claim, Resistance, and Activism in the Novels of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Hays, and Frances Burney” (2017 Smith)
• “English Literature’s Father of Authorial Androgyny: The Innovative Perspective of Chaucer and the Wife of Bath” (2017 Ingold)
•  “’Verbal Hygiene’ on the Radio: An Exploration into Perceptions of Female Voices on Public Radio and How They Reflect Language and Gender Ideologies within American Culture” (2017 Barrett)
• “Divided Bodies: Nation Formation and the Literary Marketplace in Salman Rushdie’s  Shame  and Bapsi Sidhwa’s  Cracking India”  (2016 Mellon)
• “Metaformal Trends in Contemporary American Poetry” (2016 Muller)
• “Power Through Privilege: Surveying Perspectives on the Humanities in Higher Education in the Contemporary American Campus Novel” (2016 Klein)
• “‘I always cure you when I come’: The Caregiver Figure in the Novels of Jane Austen” (2016 McKenzie)
• “English Imperial Selfhood and Semiperipheral Witchcraft in  The Faerie Queene, Daemonologie,  and  The Tempest”  (2016 Davis)
• “With Slabs, Bones, and Poles: De/Constructing Narratives of Hurricane Katrina in Jesmyn Ward’s  Salvage the Bones , Natasha Trethewey’s  Beyond Katrina , and Selah Saterstrom’s  Slab”  (2016 Lang)
• “The Ghost of That Ineluctable Past”: Trauma and Memory in John Banville’s Frames Trilogy” (2016 Berry)
• “Breaking Through Walls and Pages: Female Reading and Education in the 18th Century British Novel” (2015 Majewski)
• “The Economics of Gender Relations in London City Comedy” (2015 Weisse)
• “Objects, People, and Landscapes of Terror: Considering the Sublime through the Gothic Mode in Late 19th Century Novels” (2015 Porter)
• “Placing the Body: A Study of Postcolonialism and Environment in the Works of Jamaica Kincaid” (2015 Hutcherson)
• “Wandering Bodies: The Disruption of Identities in Jamaica Kincaid’s  Lucy  and Edwidge Danticat’s  The Farming of Bones ” (2015 Martin)
• “Mythogenesis as a Reconfiguration of Space in an ‘Alternate World’: The Legacy of Origin and Diaspora in Experimental Writing” (2015 Pittenger)
• “Cunning Authors and Bad Readers: Gendered Authorship in ‘Love in Excess’” (2015 Bruening)
• “‘The Thing Became Real’: New Materialisms and Race in the Fiction of Nella Larsen” (2015 Parkinson)
• “‘Projections of the Not-Me’: Redemptive Possibilities of the Gothic within Wuthering Heights and Beloved” (2015 Glasser)
• “Distortions, Collections, and Mobility: South Asian Poets and the Space for Female Subjectivity” (2015 Wilkey)
• “From Text to Tech: Theorizing Changing Experimental Narrative Structures” (2015 Ortega)
• “A Moral Being in an Aesthetic World: Being in the Early Novels of Kurt Vonnegut” (2015 Hubbard)

Department of English

Recent PhD Dissertations

Terekhov, Jessica (September 2022) -- "On Wit in Relation to Self-Division"

Selinger, Liora (September 2022) -- "Romanticism, Childhood, and the Poetics of Explanation"

Lockhart, Isabel (September 2022) -- "Storytelling and the Subsurface: Indigenous Fiction, Extraction, and the Energetic Present"

Ashe, Nathan (April 2022) – "Narrative Energy: Physics and the Scientific Real in Victorian Literature”

Bartley, Scott H. (April 2022) – “Watch it closely: The Poetry and Poetics of Aesthetic Focus in The New Criticism and Middle Generation”

Mctar, Ali (November 2021) – “Fallen Father: John Milton, Antinomianism, and the Case Against Adam”

Chow, Janet (September 2021) – “Securing the Crisis: Race and the Poetics of Risk”

Thorpe, Katherine (September 2021) – “Protean Figures: Personified Abstractions from Milton’s Allegory to Wordsworth’s Psychology of the Poet”

Minnen, Jennifer (September 2021) – “The Second Science: Feminist Natural Inquiry in Nineteenth-Century British Literature”

Starkowski, Kristen (September 2021) – “Doorstep Moments: Close Encounters with Minor Characters in the Victorian Novel”

Rickard, Matthew (September 2021) – “Probability: A Literary History, 1479-1700”

Crandell, Catie (September 2021) – “Inkblot Mirrors: On the Metareferential Mode and 19th Century British Literature”

Clayton, J.Thomas (September 2021) – “The Reformation of Indifference: Adiaphora, Toleration, and English Literature in the Seventeenth Century”

Goldberg, Reuven L. (May 2021) – “I Changed My Sex! Pedagogy and the Trans Narrative”

Soong, Jennifer (May 2021) – “Poetic Forgetting”

Edmonds, Brittney M. (April 2021) – “Who’s Laughing Now? Black Affective Play and Formalist Innovation in Twenty-First Century black Literary Satire”

Azariah-Kribbs, Colin (April 2021) – “Mere Curiosity: Knowledge, Desire, and Peril in the British and Irish Gothic Novel, 1796-1820”

Pope, Stephanie (January 2021) – “Rethinking Renaissance Symbolism: Material Culture, Visual Signs, and Failure in Early Modern Literature, 1587-1644”

Kumar, Matthew (September 2020) – “The Poetics of Space and Sensation in Scotland and Kenya”

Bain, Kimberly (September 2020) – “On Black Breath”

Eisenberg, Mollie (September 2020) – “The Case of the Self-Conscious Detective Novel: Modernism, Metafiction, and the Terms of Literary Value”

Hori, Julia M. (September 2020) – “Restoring Empire: British Imperial Nostalgia, Colonial Space, and Violence since WWII”

Reade, Orlando (June 2020) – “Being a Lover of the World: Lyric Poetry and Political Disaffection after the English Civil War”

Mahoney, Cate (June 2020) – “Go on Your Nerve: Confidence in American Poetry, 1860-1960”

Ritger, Matthew (April 2020) – “Objects of Correction:  Literature and the Birth of Modern Punishment”

VanSant, Cameron (April 2020) – “Novel Subjects:  Nineteenth-Century Fiction and the Transformation of British Subjecthood”

Lennington, David (November 2019) – “Anglo-Saxon and Arabic Identity in the Early Middle Ages”

Marraccini, Miranda (September 2019) – “Feminist Types: Reading the Victoria Press”

Harlow, Lucy (June 2019) – “The Discomposed Mind”

Williamson, Andrew (June 2019) – “Nothing to Say:  Silence in Modernist American Poetry”

Adair, Carl (April 2019) – “Faithful Readings: Religion, Hermeneutics, and the Habits of Criticism”

Rogers, Hope (April 2019) – “Good Girls: Female Agency and Convention in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel”

Green, Elspeth (January 2019) – “Popular Science and Modernist Poetry”

Braun, Daniel (January 2019) – Kinds of Wrong: The Liberalization of Modern Poetry 1910-1960”

Rosen, Rebecca (November 2018) – “Making the body Speak: Anatomy, Autopsy and Testimony in Early America, 1639-1790”

Blank, Daniel (November 2018) – Shakespeare and the Spectacle of University Drama”

Case, Sarah (September 2018) – Increase of Issue: Poetry and Succession in Elizabethan England”

Kucik, Emanuela  (June 2018) – “Black Genocides and the Visibility Paradox in Post-Holocaust African American and African Literature”

Quinn, Megan  (June 2018) – “The Sensation of Language: Jane Austen, William Wordsworth, Mary Shelley”

McCarthy, Jesse D.  (June 2018) – “The Blue Period: Black Writing in the Early Cold War, 1945-1965

Johnson, Colette E.  (June 2018) – “The Foibles of Play: Three Case Studies on Play in the Interwar Years”

Gingrich, Brian P.  (June 2018) – “The Pace of Modern Fiction: A History of Narrative Movement in Modernity”

Marcus, Sara R.  (June 2018) – “Political Disappointment: A Partial History of a Feeling”

Parry, Rosalind A.  (April 2018) – “Remaking Nineteenth-Century Novels for the Twentieth Century”

Gibbons, Zoe  (January 2018) – “From Time to Time:  Narratives of Temporality in Early Modern England, 1610-1670”

Padilla, Javier  (September 2017) – “Modernist Poetry and the Poetics of Temporality:  Between Modernity and Coloniality”

Alvarado, Carolina (June 2017) – "Pouring Eastward: Editing American Regionalism, 1890-1940"

Gunaratne, Anjuli (May 2017) – "Tragic Resistance: Decolonization and Disappearance in Postcolonial Literature"

Glover, Eric (May 2017) – "By and About:  An Antiracist History of the Musicals and the Antimusicals of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston"

Tuckman, Melissa (April 2017) – "Unnatural Feelings in Nineteenth-Century Poetry"

Eggan, Taylor (April 2017) – "The Ecological Uncanny: Estranging Literary Landscapes in Twentieth-Century Narrative Fiction"

Calver, Harriet (March 2017) – "Modern Fiction and Its Phantoms"

Gaubinger, Rachel (December 2016) – "Between Siblings: Form and Family in the Modern Novel"

Swartz, Kelly (December 2016) – "Maxims and the Mind: Sententiousness from Seventeenth-Century Science to the Eighteenth-Century Novel"

Robles, Francisco (June 2016) – “Migrant Modalities: Radical Democracy and Intersectional Praxis in American Literatures, 1923-1976”

Johnson, Daniel (June 2016) – “Visible Plots, Invisible Realms”

Bennett, Joshua (June 2016) – “Being Property Once Myself: In Pursuit of the Animal in 20th Century African American Literature”

Scranton, Roy (January 2016) – “The Trauma Hero and the Lost War: World War II, American Literature, and the Politics of Trauma, 1945-1975

Jacob, Priyanka (November 2015) – “Things That Linger: Secrets, Containers and Hoards in the Victorian Novel”

Evans, William (November 2015) – “The Fiction of Law in Shakespeare and Spenser”

Vasiliauskas, Emily (November 2015) – “Dead Letters: The Afterlife Before Religion”

Walker, Daniel (June 2015) – “Sociable Uncertainties: Literature and the Ethics of Indeterminacy in Eighteenth-Century Britain”

Reilly, Ariana (June 2015) – “Leave-Takings: Anti-Self-Consciousness and the Escapist Ends of the Victorian Marriage Plot”

Lerner, Ross (June 2015) – "Framing Fanaticism: Religion, Violence, and the Reformation Literature of Self-Annihilation”

Harrison, Matthew (June 2015) – "Tear Him for His Bad Verses: Poetic Value and Literary History in Early Modern England”

Krumholtz, Matthew (June 2015) – “Talking Points: American Dialogue in the Twentieth Century”

Dauber, Maayan (March 2015) – "The Pathos of Modernism: Henry James, Virginia Woolf, and Gertrude Stein (with a coda on J.M. Coetzee)”

Hostetter, Lyra (March 2015) – “Novel Errantry: An Annotated Edition of Horatio, of Holstein (1800)”

Sanford, Beatrice (January 2015) – “Love’s Perception: Nineteenth-Century Aesthetics of Attachment”

Chong, Kenneth (January 2015) – “Potential Theologies: Scholasticism and Middle English Literature”

Worsley, Amelia (September 2014) – “The Poetry of Loneliness from Romance to Romanticism”

Hurtado, Jules (June 2014) – “The Pornographer at the Crossroads: Sex, Realism and Experiment in the Contemporary English Novel”

Rutherford, James (June 2014) – "Irrational Actors: Literature and Logic in Early Modern England”

Wilde, Lisa (June 2014) – “English Numeracy and the Writing of New Worlds, 1543-1622”

Hyde, Emily (November 2013) – “A Way of Seeing: Modernism, Illustration, and Postcolonial Literature”

Ortiz, Ivan (September 2013) – “Romanticism and the Aesthetics of Modern Transport”

Aronowicz, Yaron (September 2013) – “Fascinated Moderns: The Attentions of Modern Fiction”

Wythoff, Grant (September 2013) – “Gadgetry: New Media and the Fictional Imagination”

Ramachandran, Anitha (September 2013) – "Recovering Global Women’s Travel Writings from the Modern Period: An Inquiry Into Genre and Narrative Agency”

Reuland, John (April 2013) – “The Self Unenclosed: A New Literary History of Pragmatism, 1890-1940”

Wasserman, Sarah (January 2013) – “Material Losses: Urban Ephemera in Contemporary American Literature and Culture”

Kastner, Tal (November 2012) – "The Boilerplate of Everything and the Ideal of Agreement in American Law and Literature"

Labella, John (October 2012) – "Lyric Hemisphere: Latin America in United States Poetry, 1927-1981"

Kindley, Evan (September 2012) – "Critics and Connoisseurs: Poet-Critics and the Administration of Modernism"

Smith, Ellen (September 2012) – "Writing Native: The Aboriginal in Australian Cultural Nationalism 1927-1945"

Werlin, Julianne (September 2012) – "The Impossible Probable: Modeling Utopia in Early Modern England"

Posmentier, Sonya (May 2012) – "Cultivation and Catastrophe:  Forms of Nature in Twentieth-Century Poetry of the Black Diaspora"

Alfano, Veronica (September 2011) – “The Lyric in Victorian Memory”

Foltz, Jonathan (September 2011) – “Modernism and the Narrative Cultures of Film”

Coghlan, J. Michelle (September 2011) – “Revolution’s Afterlife; The Paris Commune in American Cultural Memory, 1871-1933”

Christoff, Alicia (September 2011) – “Novel Feeling”

Shin, Jacqueline (August 2011) – “Picturing Repose: Between the Acts of British Modernism”

Ebrahim, Parween (August 2011) – “Outcasts and Inheritors: The Ishmael Ethos in American Culture, 1776-1917”

Reckson, Lindsay (August 2011) – “Realist Ecstasy: Enthusiasm in American Literature 1886 - 1938"

Londe, Gregory (June 2011) – “Enduring Modernism: Forms of Surviving Location in the 20th Century Long Poem”

Brown, Adrienne (June 2011) – “Reading Between the Skylines: The Skyscraper in American Modernism”

Russell, David (June 2011) – “A Literary History of Tact: Sociability, Aesthetic Liberalism and the Essay Form in Nineteenth-Century Britain”

Hostetter, Aaron (December 2010) – "The Politics of Eating and Cooking in Medieval English Romance"

Moshenska, Joseph (November 2010) – " 'Feeling Pleasures': The Sense of Touch in Renaissance England"

Walker, Casey (September 2010) – "The City Inside: Intimacy and Urbanity in Henry James, Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf"

Rackin, Ethel (August 2010) – "Ornamentation and Essence in Modernist Poetry"

Noble, Mary (August 2010) – "Primitive Marriage: Anthropology and Nineteenth-Century Fiction"

Fox, Renee (August 2010) – "Necromantic Victorians: Reanimation, History and the Politics of Literary Innovation, 1868-1903"

Hopper, Briallen (June 2010) – “Feeling Right in American Reform Culture”

Lee, Wendy (June 2010) -- "Failures of Feeling in the British Novel from Richardson to Eliot"

Moyer, James (March 2010) – "The Passion of Abolitionism: How Slave Martyrdom Obscures Slave Labor”

Forbes, Erin (September 2009) – “Genius of Deep Crime:  Literature, Enslavement and the American Criminal”

Crawforth, Hannah (September 2009) – “The Politics and Poetics of Etymology in Early Modern Literature”

Elliott, Danielle (April 2009) – "Sea of Bones: The Middle Passage in Contemporary Poetry of the Black Atlantic”

Yu, Wesley (April 2009) – “Romance Logic: The Argument of Vernacular Verse in the Scholastic Middle Ages”

Cervantes, Gabriel (April 2009) – "Genres of Correction: Anglophone Literature and the Colonial Turn in Penal Law 1722-1804”

Rosinberg, Erwin (January 2009) – "A Further Conjunction: The Couple and Its Worlds in Modern British Fiction”

Walsh, Keri (January 2009) – "Antigone in Modernism: Classicism, Feminism, and Theatres of Protest”

Heald, Abigail (January 2009) – “Tears for Dido: A Renaissance Poetics of Feeling”

Bellin, Roger (January 2009) – "Argument: The American Transcendentalists and Disputatious Reason”

Ellis, Nadia (November 2008) – "Colonial Affections: Formulations of Intimacy Between England and the Caribbean, 1930-1963”

Baskin, Jason (November 2008) – “Embodying Experience: Romanticism and Social Life in the Twentieth Century”

Barrett, Jennifer-Kate (September 2008) – “ ‘So Written to Aftertimes’: Renaissance England’s Poetics of Futurity”

Moss, Daniel (September 2008) – “Renaissance Ovids: The Metamorphosis of Allusion in Late Elizabethan England”

Rainof, Rebecca (September 2008) – “Purgatory and Fictions of Maturity: From Newman to Woolf”

Darznik, Jasmin (November 2007) – “Writing Outside the Veil: Literature by Women of the Iranian Diaspora”

Bugg, John (September 2007) – “Gagging Acts: The Trials of British Romanticism”

Matson, John (September 2007) – “Marking Twain: Mechanized Composition and Medial Subjectivity in the Twain Era”

Neel, Alexandra (September 2007) – “The Writing of Ice: The Literature and Photography of Polar Regions”

Smith-Browne, Stephanie (September 2007) – “Gothic and the Pacific Voyage: Patriotism, Romance and Savagery in South Seas Travels and the Utopia of the Terra Australis”

Bystrom, Kerry (June 2007) – “Orphans and Origins: Family, Memory, and Nation in Argentina and South Africa”

Ards, Angela (June 2007) – “Affirmative Acts: Political Piety in African American Women’s Contemporary Autobiography”

Cragwall, Jasper (June 2007) – “Lake Methodism”

Ball, David (June 2007) – “False Starts: The Rhetoric of Failure and the Making of American Modernism, 1850-1950”

Ramdass, Harold (June 2007) – “Miswriting Tragedy: Genealogy, History and Orthography in the Canterbury Tales, Fragment I”

Lilley, James (June 2007) – “Common Things: Transatlantic Romance and the Aesthetics of Belonging, 1764-1840”

Noble, Mary (March 2007) – “Primitive Marriage: Anthropology and Nineteenth-Century Fiction”

Passannante, Gerard (January 2007) – “The Lucretian Renaissance: Ancient Poetry and Humanism in an Age of Science”

Tessone, Natasha (November 2006) – “The Fiction of Inheritance: Familial, Cultural, and National Legacies in the Irish and Scottish Novel”

Horrocks, Ingrid (September 2006) – “Reluctant Wanderers, Mobile Feelings: Moving Figures in Eighteenth-Century Literature”

Bender, Abby (June 2006) – “Out of Egypt and into bondage: Exodus in the Irish National Imagination”

Johnson, Hannah (June 2006) – “The Medieval Limit: Historiography, Ethics, Culture”

Horowitz, Evan (January 2006) – “The Writing of Modern Life”

White, Gillian (November 2005) – “ ‘We Do Not Say Ourselves Like That in Poems’: The Poetics of Contingency in Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop

Baudot, Laura (September 2005) – “Looking at Nothing: Literary Vacuity in the Long Eighteenth Century”

Hicks, Kevin (September 2005) – “Acts of Recovery: American Antebellum Fictions”

Stern, Kimberly (September 2005) – “The Victorian Sibyl: Women Reviewers and the Reinvention of Critical Tradition”

Nardi, Steven (May 2005) – “Automatic Aesthetics: Race, Technology, and Poetics in the Harlem Renaissance and American New Poetry”

Sayeau, Michael (May 2005) – “Everyday: Literature, Modernity, and Time”

Cooper, Lawrence (April 2005) – “Gothic Realities: The Emergence of Cultural Forms Through Representations of the Unreal”

Betjemann, Peter (November 2004) – “Talking Shop: Craft and Design in Hawthorne, James, and Wharton”

Forbes, Aileen (November 2004) – “Passion Play: Theaters of Romantic Emotion”

Keeley, Howard (November 2004) – “Beyond Big House and Cabin: Dwelling Politically in Modern Irish Literature”

Machlan, Elizabeth (November 2004) – “Panic Rooms: Architecture and Anxiety in New York Stories from 1900 to 9/11”

McDowell, Demetrius (November 2004) – “Hawthorne, James, and the Pressures of the Literary Marketplace”

Waldron, Jennifer (November 2004) – “Eloquence of the Body: Aesthetics, Theology, and English Renaissance Theater”

Recent PhD Dissertations

Postdramatic African Theater and Critique of Representation Oluwakanyinsola Ajayi

Troubling Diaspora: Literature Across the Arabic Atlantic Phoebe Carter

The Contrafacta of Thomas Watson and Simon Goulart: Resignifying the Polyphonic Song in 16th-century England and France Joseph Gauvreau

Of Unsound Mind: Madness and Mental Health in Asian American Literature Carrie Geng

Cultural Capitals: Postwar Yiddish between Warsaw and Buenos Aires Rachelle Grossman

Blindness, Deafness, and Cripping the Grounds of Comparison in Comparative Literature Kathleen Ong

Counter-Republics of Letters: Politics, Publishing, and the Global Novel Elisa Sotgiu

Red Feminism: The Politics and Poetics of Liberation Botagoz Ussen Correlative Object Ontology: Pragmatism and Objects of Literary Interpretation Mehmet Yildiz

‘Through the Looking Glass’: The Narrative Performance of Anarkali Aisha Dad

Indeterminate “Greekness”: A Diasporic and Transnational Poetics Ilana Freedman

Imagined Mothers: The Construction of Italy, Ancient Greece, and Anglo-American Hegemony Francesca Bellei

The Untimely Avant-Garde: Literature, Politics, and Transculturation in the Sinosphere (1909-2020) Fangdai Chen

Recovering the Language of Lament: Modernism, Catastrophe, and Exile Sarah Corrigan

Beyond Diaspora:The Off Home in Jewish Literature from Latin America and Israel Lana Jaffe Neufeld

Artificial Humanities: A Literary Perspective on Creating and Enhancing Humans from Pygmalion to Cyborgs Nina Begus

Music and Exile in Twentieth-Century German, Italian, and Polish Literature Cecily Cai

We Speak Violence: How Narrative Denies the Everyday Rachael Duarte Riascos

Anticlimax: The Multilingual Novel at the Turn of the 21st Century Matylda Figlerowicz

Forgetting to Remember: An Approach to Proust’s Recherche Lara Roizen

The Event of Literature:An Interval in a World of Violence Petra Taylor

The English Baroque:The Logic of Excess in Early Modern Literature Hudson Vincent

Porte Planète; Ville Canale –parisian knobs /visually/ turned to \textual\ currents Emma Zofia Zachurski

‘…not a poet but a poem’: A Lacanian study of the subject of the poem Marina Connelly The Tune That Can No Longer Be Recognized: Late Medieval Chinese Poetry and Its Affective Others Jasmine Hu The Invention of the Art Film: Authorship and French Cultural Policy Joseph Pomp Apocalypticism in the Arabic Novel William Tamplin The Sound of Prose: Rhythm, Translation, Orality Thomas Wisniewski

The New Austerity in Syrian Poetry Daniel Behar

Mourning the Living: Africa and the Elegy on Screen Molly Klaisner

Art Beyond the Norms: Art of the Insane, Art Brut, and the Avant-Garde from Prinzhorn to Dubuffet (1922-1949) Raphael Koenig

Words, Images and the Self: Iconoclasm in Late Medieval English Literature Yun Ni

Europe and the Cultural Politics of Mediterranean Migrations Argyro Nicolaou

Voice of Power, Voice of Terror: Lyric, Violence, and the Greek Revolution Simos Zenios

Every Step a New Movement: Anarchism in the Stalin-Era Literature of the Absurd and its Post-Soviet Adaptations Ania Aizman

Kino-Eye, Kino-Bayonet: Avant-Garde Documentary in Japan, France, and the USSR Julia Alekseyeva

Ambient Meaning: Mood, Vibe, System Peli Grietzer

Year of the Titan: Percy Bysshe Shelley and Ancient Poetry Benjamin Sudarsky

Metropolitan Morning: Loss, Affect, and Metaphysics in Buenos Aires, 1920-1940 Juan Torbidoni

Sophisticated Players: Adults Writing as Children in the Stalin Era and Beyond Luisa Zaitseva

Collecting as Cultural Technique: Materialistic Interventions into History in 20th Century China Guangchen Chen

Pathways of Transculturation: Chinese Cultural Encounters with Russia and Japan (1880-1930) Xiaolu Ma

Beyond the Formal Law: Making Cases in Roman Controversiae and Tang Literary Judgments Tony Qian

Alternative Diplomacies: Writing in Early Twentieth-Century Shanghai, Istanbul, and Beyond? Alice Xiang

The Literary Territorialization of Manchuria: Rethinking National and Transnational Literature in East Asia from the Frontier Miya Qiong Xie World Literature and the Chinese Compass, 1942-2012 Yanping Zhang

Anatomy of ‘Decadence’ Henry Bowles

Medicine As Storytelling: Emplotment Strategies in Doctor-Patient Encounters and Beyond (1870-1830) Elena Fratto

Platonic Footnotes: Figures of Asymmetry in Ancient Greek Thought Katie Deutsch

Children’s Literature Grows Up Christina Phillips Mattson

Humor as Epiphanic Awareness and Attempted Self-Transcendence Curtis Shonkwiler

Ethnicity, Ethnogenesis and Ancestry in the Early Iron Age Aegean as Background to and through the Lens of the Iliad Guy Smoot

The Modern Stage of Capitalism: The Drama of Markets and Money (1870-1930) Alisa Sniderman

Repenting Roguery: Penance in the Spanish Picaresque Novel and the Arabic and Hebrew Maqāma Emmanuel Ramírez Nieves

The “Poetics of Diagram” John Kim

Dreaming Empire: European Writers in the Fascist Era Robert Kohen

The Poetics of Love in Prosimetra across the Medieval Mediterranean Isabelle Levy

Renaissance Error: Digression from Ariosto to Milton Luke Taylor

The New Voyager: Theory and Practice of South Asian Literary Modernisms Rita Banerjee

Be an Outlaw, Be a Hero: Cinematic Figures of Urban Banditry and Transgression in Brazil, France, and the Maghreb Maryam Monalisa Gharavi

Bāgh-e Bi-Bargi: Aspects of Time and Presence in the Poetry of Mehdi Akhavān Sāles Marie Huber

Freund-schaft: Capturing Aura in an Unframed Literary Exchange Clara Masnatta

Class, Gender and Indigeneity as Counter-discourses in the African Novel: Achebe, Ngugi, Emecheta, Sow Fall and Ali Fatin Abbas

The Empire of Chance: War, Literature, and the Epistemic Order of Modernity Anders Engberg-Pedersen

Poetics of the unfinished: illuminating Paul Celan’s “Eingedunkelt” Thomas Connolly

Towards a Media History of Writing in Ancient Italy Stephanie Frampton Character Before the Novel: Representing Moral Identity in the Age of Shakespeare Jamey Graham

Transforming Trauma: Memory and Slavery in Black Atlantic Literature since 1830 Raquel Kennon

Renaissance Romance: Rewarding the Boundaries of Fiction Christine S. Lee

Psychomotor Aesthetics: Conceptions of Gesture and Affect in Russian and American Modernity, 1910s-1920s Ana Olenina

Melancholy, Ambivalence, Exhaustion: Responses to National Trauma in the Literature and Film of France and China Erin Schlumpf

The Poetics of Human-Computer Interaction Dennis Tenen

Novelizing the Muslim Wars of Conquest: The Christian Pioneers of the Arabic Historical Novel Luke Leafgren

Secret Lives of the City: Reimagining the Urban Margins in 20th-Century Literature and Theory, from Surrealism to Iain Sinclair Jennifer Hui Bon Hoa

Archaic Greek Memory and Its Role in Homer Anita Nikkanen

Deception Narratives and the (Dis)Pleasure of Being Cheated: The Cases of Gogol, Nabokov, Mamet, and Flannery O’Connor Svetlana Rukhelman

Aesthetic Constructs and the Work of Play in 20th Century Latin American and Russian Literature Natalya Sukhonos

Stone, Steel, Glass: Constructions of Time in European Modernity Christina Svendsen

See here for a full list of dissertations since 1904 .

Founded as a graduate program in 1904 and joining with the undergraduate Literature Concentration in 2007, Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature operates at the crossroads of multilingualism, literary study, and media history.

© 2023 President and Fellows of Harvard College

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Digital Commons @ USF > College of Arts and Sciences > English > Theses and Dissertations

English Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

The Drama of Last Things: Reckoning in Late Medieval and Early Modern English Drama , Spencer M. Daniels

African Spirituality in Literature Written by Women of African Descent , Brigét V. Harley

Hidden Monstrosities: The Transformation of Medieval Characters and Conventions in Shakespeare's Romances , Lynette Kristine Kuliyeva

Making the Invisible Visible: (Re)envisioning the Black Body in Contemporary Adaptations of Nineteenth-Century Fiction , Urshela Wiggins McKinney

Lawful Injustice: Novel Readings of Racialized Temporality and Legal Instabilities , Danielle N. Mercier

“Manne, for thy loue wolde I not lette”: Eucharistic Portrayals of Caritas in Medieval and Early Modern English Literature and Drama 1350-1650 , Rachel Tanski

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

Of Mētis and Cuttlefish: Employing Collective Mētis as a Theoretical Framework for Marginalized Communities , Justiss Wilder Burry

What on earth are we doing (?): A Field-Wide Exploration of Design Courses in TPC , Jessica L. Griffith

Organizations Ensuring Resilience: A Case Study of Cortez, Florida , Karla Ariel Maddox

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Using Movie Clips to Understand Vivid-Phrasal Idioms’ Meanings , Rasha Salem S. Alghamdi

Writing Supports for Honors Thesis Students: An Applied Program Evaluation Study , Krysta Banke

An Exercise in Exceptions: Personhood, Divergency, and Ableism in the STAR TREK Franchise , Jessica A. Blackman

Vulnerable Resistance in Victorian Women’s Writing , Stephanie A. Harper

Curricular Assemblages: Understanding Student Writing Knowledge (Re)circulation Across Genres , Adam Phillips

Anthropocene Fiction: Empathy, Kinship, and the Troubled Waters at the End of the World , Megan Mandell Stowe

PAD Beyond the Classroom: Integrating PAD in the Scrum Workplace , Jade S. Weiss

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Social Cues in Animated Pedagogical Agents for Second Language Learners: the Application of The Embodiment Principle in Video Design , Sahar M. Alyahya

A Field-Wide Examination of Cross-Listed Courses in Technical Professional Communication , Carolyn M. Gubala

Labor-Based Grading Contracts in the Multilingual FYC Classroom: Unpacking the Variables , Kara Kristina Larson

Land Goddesses, Divine Pigs, and Royal Tricksters: Subversive Mythologies and Imperialist Land Ownership Dispossession in Twentieth Century Irish and American Literature , Elizabeth Ricketts

Oppression, Resistance, and Empowerment: The Power Dynamics of Naming and Un-naming in African American Literature, 1794 to 2019 , Melissa "Maggie" Romigh

Generic Expectations in First Year Writing: Teaching Metadiscoursal Reflection and Revision Strategies for Increased Generic Uptake of Academic Writing , Kaelah Rose Scheff

Reframing the Gothic: Race, Gender, & Disability in Multiethnic Literature , Ashely B. Tisdale

Intersections of Race and Place in Short Fiction by New Orleans Gens de Couleur Libres , Adrienne D. Vivian

Mental Illness Diagnosis and the Construction of Stigma , Katie Lynn Walkup

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Rhetorical Roundhouse Kicks: Tae Kwon Do Pumsae Practice and Non-Western Embodied Topoi , Spencer Todd Bennington

9/11 Then and Now: How the Performance of Memorial Rhetoric by Presidents Changes to Construct Heroes , Kristen M. Grafton

Kinesthetically Speaking: Human and Animal Communication in British Literature of the Long Eighteenth Century , Dana Jolene Laitinen

Exploring Refugee Students’ Second Language (L2) Motivational Selves through Digital Visual Representations , Nhu Le

Glamour in Contemporary American Cinema , Shauna A. Maragh

Instrumentalization Theory: An Analytical Heuristic for a Heightened Social Awareness of Machine Learning Algorithms in Social Media , Andrew R. Miller

Intercessory Power: A Literary Analysis of Ethics and Care in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon , Alice Walker’s Meridian , and Toni Cade Bambara’s Those Bones Are Not My Child , Kelly Mills

The Power of Non-Compliant Logos: A New Materialist Approach to Comic Studies , Stephanie N. Phillips

Female Identity and Sexuality in Contemporary Indonesian Novels , Zita Rarastesa

"The Fiery Furnaces of Hell": Rhetorical Dynamism in Youngstown, OH , Joshua M. Rea

“We developed solidarity”: Family, Race, Identity, and Space-Time in Recent Multiethnic U.S. American Fiction , Kimber L. Wiggs

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Remembrance of a Wound: Ethical Mourning in the Works of Ana Menéndez, Elías Miguel Muñoz, and Junot Díaz , José Aparicio

Taking an “Ecological Turn” in the Evaluation of Rhetorical Interventions , Peter Cannon

New GTA’s and the Pre-Semester Orientation: The Need for Informed Refinement , Jessica L. Griffith

Reading Rape and Answering with Empathy: A New Approach to Sexual Assault Education for College Students , Brianna Jerman

The Karoo , The Veld , and the Co-Op: The Farm as Microcosm and Place for Change in Schreiner, Lessing, and Head , Elana D. Karshmer

"The weak are meat, and the strong do eat"; Representations of the Slaughterhouse in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature , Stephanie Lance

Language of Carnival: How Language and the Carnivalesque Challenge Hegemony , Yulia O. Nekrashevich

Queer Authority in Old and Middle English Literature , Elan J. Pavlinich

Because My Garmin Told Me To: A New Materialist Study of Agency and Wearable Technology , Michael Repici

No One Wants to Read What You Write: A Contextualized Analysis of Service Course Assignments , Tanya P. Zarlengo

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Beauty and the Beasts: Making Places with Literary Animals of Florida , Haili A. Alcorn

The Medievalizing Process: Religious Medievalism in Romantic and Victorian Literature , Timothy M. Curran

Seeing Trauma: The Known and the Hidden in Nineteenth-Century Literature , Alisa M. DeBorde

Analysis of User Interfaces in the Sharing Economy , Taylor B. Johnson

Border-Crossing Travels Across Literary Worlds: My Shamanic Conscientization , Scott Neumeister

The Spectacle of The Bomb: Rhetorical Analysis of Risk of The Nevada Test Site in Technical Communication, Popular Press, and Pop Culture , Tiffany Wilgar

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Traveling Women and Consuming Place in Eighteenth-Century Travel Letters and Journals , Cassie Patricia Childs

“The Nations of the Field and Wood”: The Uncertain Ontology of Animals in Eighteenth-Century British Literature , J. Kevin Jordan

Modern Mythologies: The Epic Imagination in Contemporary Indian Literature , Sucheta Kanjilal

Science in the Sun: How Science is Performed as a Spatial Practice , Natalie Kass

Body as Text: Physiognomy on the Early English Stage , Curtis Le Van

Tensions Between Democracy and Expertise in the Florida Keys , Elizabeth A. Loyer

Institutional Review Boards and Writing Studies Research: A Justice-Oriented Study , Johanna Phelps-Hillen

The Spirit of Friendship: Girlfriends in Contemporary African American Literature , Tangela La'Chelle Serls

Aphra Behn on the Contemporary Stage: Behn's Feminist Legacy and Woman-Directed Revivals of The Rover , Nicole Elizabeth Stodard

(Age)ncy in Composition Studies , Alaina Tackitt

Constructing Health Narratives: Patient Feedback in Online Communities , Katie Lynn Walkup

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

Rupturing the World of Elite Athletics: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of the Suspension of the 2011 IAAF Regulations on Hyperandrogenism , Ella Browning

Shaping Climate Citizenship: The Ethics of Inclusion in Climate Change Communication and Policy , Lauren E. Cagle

Drop, Cover, and Hold On: Analyzing FEMA's Risk Communication through Visual Rhetoric , Samantha Jo Cosgrove

Material Expertise: Applying Object-oriented Rhetoric in Marine Policy , Zachary Parke Dixon

The Non-Identical Anglophone Bildungsroman : From the Categorical to the De-Centering Literary Subject in the Black Atlantic , Jarad Heath Fennell

Instattack: Instagram and Visual Ad Hominem Political Arguments , Sophia Evangeline Gourgiotis

Hospitable Climates: Representations of the West Indies in Eighteenth-Century British Literature , Marisa Carmen Iglesias

Chosen Champions: Medieval and Early Modern Heroes as Postcolonial Reactions to Tensions between England and Europe , Jessica Trant Labossiere

Science, Policy, and Decision Making: A Case Study of Deliberative Rhetoric and Policymaking for Coastal Adaptation in Southeast Florida , Karen Patricia Langbehn

A New Materialist Approach to Visual Rhetoric in PhotoShopBattles , Jonathan Paul Ray

Tracing the Material: Spaces and Objects in British and Irish Modernist Novels , Mary Allison Wise

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

Representations of Gatsby: Ninety Years of Retrospective , Christine Anne Auger

Robust, Low Power, Discrete Gate Sizing , Anthony Joseph Casagrande

Wrestling with Angels: Postsecular Contemporary American Poetry , Paul T. Corrigan

#networkedglobe: Making the Connection between Social Media and Intercultural Technical Communication , Laura Anne Ewing

Evidence of Things Not Seen: A Semi-Automated Descriptive Phrase and Frame Analysis of Texts about the Herbicide Agent Orange , Sarah Beth Hopton

'She Shall Not Be Moved': Black Women's Spiritual Practice in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Beloved, Paradise, and Home , Rondrea Danielle Mathis

Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing , Megan M. Mcintyre

Now, We Hear Through a Voice Darkly: New Media and Narratology in Cinematic Art , James Anthony Ricci

Navigating Collective Activity Systems: An Approach Towards Rhetorical Inquiry , Katherine Jesse Royce

Women's Narratives of Confinement: Domestic Chores as Threads of Resistance and Healing , Jacqueline Marie Smith

Domestic Spaces in Transition: Modern Representations of Dwelling in the Texts of Elizabeth Bowen , Shannon Tivnan

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Paradise Always Already Lost: Myth, Memory, and Matter in English Literature , Elizabeth Stuart Angello

Overcoming the 5th-Century BCE Epistemological Tragedy: A Productive Reading of Protagoras of Abdera , Ryan Alan Blank

Acts of Rebellion: The Rhetoric of Rogue Cinema , Adam Breckenridge

Material and Textual Spaces in the Poetry of Montagu, Leapor, Barbauld, and Robinson , Jessica Lauren Cook

Decolonizing Shakespeare: Race, Gender, and Colonialism in Three Adaptations of Three Plays by William Shakespeare , Angela Eward-Mangione

Risk of Compliance: Tracing Safety and Efficacy in Mef-Lariam's Licensure , Julie Marie Gerdes

Beyond Performance: Rhetoric, Collective Memory, and the Motive of Imprinting Identity , Brenda M. Grau

Subversive Beauty - Victorian Bodies of Expression , Lisa Michelle Hoffman-Reyes

Integrating Reading and Writing For Florida's ESOL Program , George Douglas Mcarthur

Responsibility and Responsiveness in the Novels of Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley , Katherine Marie McGee

Ghosts, Orphans, and Outlaws: History, Family, and the Law in Toni Morrison's Fiction , Jessica Mckee

The "Defective" Generation: Disability in Modernist Literature , Deborah Susan Mcleod

Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Representation of Ethnic Futurity , Joy Ann Sanchez-Taylor

Hermes, Technical Communicator of the Gods: The Theory, Design, and Creation of a Persuasive Game for Technical Communication , Eric Walsh

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Rhetorical Spirits: Spirituality as Rhetorical Device in New Age Womanist of Color Texts , Ronisha Witlee Browdy

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Best Senior Thesis Topics

Table of contents

• 0.1 Key Points:
• 1 The Importance Of A Good Senior Thesis Topics
• 2.1 1. Identify your interests and passions
• 2.2 2. Consider the scope and feasibility of the topic
• 2.3 3. Seek guidance from your professors and advisors
• 3 Good Senior Thesis Topics
• 4 Senior Thesis Topics For High School And College Students
• 5 Psychology Senior Thesis Ideas
• 6 English Literature Senior Thesis Topics
• 7 Graphic Design Senior Thesis Ideas
• 8 Political Science Senior Thesis Topics
• 9 History Senior Thesis Ideas
• 10 Criminal Justice Senior Thesis Ideas
• 11 Conclusion

Senior thesis topics are research projects students undertake in their final year of undergraduate studies or graduate programs. These senior thesis topics allow students to demonstrate their expertise in academic writing.

School senior thesis topics can cover a wide range of disciplines. This spans science and humanities to social sciences and engineering. All of these allow students to explore their academic interests in depth and make valuable contributions to their respective fields against any grade stereotypes or even gender stereotypes.

With a thousand ideas, it may be hard to nail a good topic. This article covers a series of college and high school senior thesis topics for different subjects.

Key Points:

• School senior thesis topics allow students to dig deep into a specific study area within their chosen field.
• A strong senior thesis topic can potentially make a valuable impact on the academic community and shape future research in the field.

The Importance Of A Good Senior Thesis Topics

Well-selected senior thesis topics capture the interest of the student and hold significance in their field of study. This is important for the following reasons.

Firstly, well-chosen school senior thesis topics provide students with an opportunity to explore a specific area of study. This fosters a sense of ownership and engagement with the research process. These personal investment projects enhance motivation and dedication, resulting in a higher quality of work. However, not every student had the luxury of time. In case you have a question like, who can write my thesis , there are professional platforms that can render such a service. With 24/7 customer support and experienced writers, for you to write a thesis becomes so easy.

Secondly, good high school senior thesis topics enable students to make original contributions to their field by conducting research, analyzing data, and generating new insights. This can lead to advancements in knowledge and potential solutions to existing problems.

Lastly, a strong senior thesis topic demonstrates students’ ability to think critically and develop analytical skills. It requires formulating search questions, designing methods, and interpreting complex data. These processes cultivate intellectual maturity, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication skills.

Tips On How To Select The Best Senior Thesis Topic?

Selecting the best high school senior thesis topic requires a thoughtful and systematic approach. With numerous options available, it is important to consider the topic selection process carefully. Nonetheless, you can buy thesis paper pieces online if you cannot spare that much time for the steps involved, with professors available to help. Listed below are some tips to help you choose the best senior thesis topics.

1. Identify your interests and passions

Choose topics in the subjects that excite you and the areas of study that keep you on your toes. This will keep you energetic throughout the search process and increase the worth of your work.

2. Consider the scope and feasibility of the topic

Ensure that the topic is manageable within the given timeframe and aligns with the resources and expertise available to you. It is essential to strike a balance between a topic that is challenging enough to showcase your abilities and one that is realistic and achievable.

3. Seek guidance from your professors and advisors

They possess valuable expertise and can provide insights into potential research areas or suggest topics based on your academic strengths. They can also provide ideas on how to write a thesis for research paper pieces – a crucial aspect of research writing. Engage in discussions with them to receive feedback and better understand the viability and relevance of your topic ideas.

Good Senior Thesis Topics

The right thesis topic showcases a student’s expertise and passion and sets the stage for a quality research experience.

However, the steps of choosing a senior thesis topic can be overwhelming. Below is a curated list of topic ideas for your next project.

• The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Job Automation: Analyzing the Effect on Employment Trends.
• Accessing the Effects of Plastics in the Evolution of Marine Ecology
• A Closer Look at the Relationship Between Social Media Usage and Mental Health Outcomes.
• Exploring the Thin Line Between Genetic Engineering and Moral Ethics
• A Case Study on the Impact of Climate Change on Ecological Biodiversity
• Analyzing the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives on Consumer Behavior and Brand Perception.
• Exploring the Intersection of Gender and Leadership: A Comparative Study of Leadership Styles and Organizational Performance.
• Investigating the Psychological Effects of Virtual Reality: Examining its Potential in Therapy and Mental Health Treatment.
• Assessing the Impacts of Global Warming Policies on Energy Transition: Case Studies from Different Countries.
• Exploring the Representation of Race and Identity in Contemporary Literature: Comparative Analysis of Works by Diverse Authors.

Senior Thesis Topics For High School And College Students

When it comes to selecting senior thesis topics, both high school and college students are faced with a challenge. This challenge is finding a subject that aligns with academic interests and demonstrates their research abilities.

An important point to remember is to seek help from your professors. They provide valuable advice on questions like – how to finish my thesis and strategic planning to craft a good one if you feel unsure. Listed are some popular topics for both college and high school senior thesis.

• The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health: An Analysis of the Relationship between Social Media Usage and Psychological Well-being in Society.
• Renewable Energy Solutions: Assessing the Feasibility and Environmental Benefits of Implementing Solar Energy Systems in a Local Community.
• Cultural Differences in Perception of Beauty: Examining how cultural norms shape the perception of beauty and body image ideals.
• The Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity: Investigating the Relationship between Global Warming and Species Extinction Rates.
• Gender Equality in the Workplace: Analyzing the Factors Affecting the Gender Pay Gap
• Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: Assessing the Best Practices for Protecting Personal and Organizational Data in the Digital Age.
• The Influence of Music on Emotion and Memory: Investigating the Cognitive and Psychological Effects of Music and Its Potential Therapeutic Applications.
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of Sports Injuries Prevention Programs among Professional Athletes
• Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Analyzing the Environmental, Economic, and Social Benefits of Organic Farming
• Urbanization and Urban Planning: Evaluating the Impacts of Rapid Urban Growth on Infrastructure, Transportation, and Quality of Life in Urban Society.

Psychology Senior Thesis Ideas

When selecting  psychology senior thesis topics and how to write them, the choices can be vast and exciting. This list explores some topics to help most students generate compelling senior thesis best topics.

• The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Adult Mental Health: Physiological Responses Study
• Examining the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Social Anxiety Disorder and Stress in College Students
• The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Romantic Relationships in Adolescents
• Investigating the Role of Parenting Styles in the Development of Emotional Intelligence in Children
• Exploring the Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Functioning and Executive Functioning
• The Influence of Personality Traits on Career Choice and Self Esteem
• Understanding the Psychology of Eating Disorders and Self-Esteem in Young Adults
• Investigating the Impact of Social Support Therapy on Depression Treatment and Anxiety Reduction
• The Relationship Between Sleep Quality and Cardiovascular Dysfunction in Children
• Examining the Effects of Exercise on Eating Disorders and Anxiety Symptoms in Individuals with Major Depression

English Literature Senior Thesis Topics

With a vast landscape of works in literature and critical theories to explore, finding the perfect English literature senior thesis topics can be exciting and challenging. Students can draw inspiration for writing from the following listed English literature senior thesis topics:

• Exploring gender roles in Shakespeare’s Tragedies: The Differences of Women like Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, and Desdemona.
• The Influence of Colonialism in Postcolonial Literature: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
• Shakespearean Tragedy in Modern Context: A Comparative Study of Hamlet and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
• An Analysis of Gothic Elements in the Books of Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe.
• The Illustration of Mother Nature in Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth’s Poetry.
• Politics and Religion in Literature Periods
• The Portrayal of Social Class, Civil Rights and Inequality in Women from Jane Austen’s Novels.
• Social Critique and Satire in the Novels of Charles Dickens
• A Comparative Study of Gender and Sexuality in the Works of Virginia Woolf
• The Influence of Colonialism and Imperialism on Heart of Darkness and Wide Sargasso Sea.

Graphic Design Senior Thesis Ideas

Writing a senior thesis in graphic design can be interesting as it offers students an opportunity to showcase their creative prowess. Some topics to refine for creative folks in this field are:

• Designing Dynamic Interactions in the Digital World for the Human Mind.
• Visual Storytelling: Examining the Role of Graphic Design in Narrative Communication
• The Intersection of Graphic Design and Social Justice: Using Design as a Catalyst for Promoting Positive Social Impact.
• Sustainable Design Practices in Graphic Design: Exploring Eco-Friendly Approaches and Materials.
• The Evolution of Branding in the Digital Age: Analyzing the Shift from Traditional to Digital Branding Strategies.
• Graphic Design for User Experience: Investigating the Creation and Impact of Visual Design on User Engagement and Satisfaction.
• Visualizing Data: Exploring Innovative Techniques for Information Design and Data Visualization.
• Exploring Cultural Identity through Graphic Design: Examining the Representation of Identity and Diversity in Visual Communication.
• The Power of Color in Graphic Design: Investigating the Psychological and Emotional Effects of Color in Visual Communication.
• Designing for Accessibility: Examining Inclusive Design Principles and Practices in Graphic Design.

Political Science Senior Thesis Topics

Science senior thesis topics offer a chance to demonstrate your research writing skills and critical thinking abilities. The thesis topics you choose will shape your writing and research journey and ultimately determine the success of your thesis.

Therefore, getting all the help you need can help you generate interesting political science senior thesis topics. So, some interesting political science senior thesis topics to look into include:

• Analysis of European Union Protests and the Use of Social Media in Political Mobilization.
• Investigating how Gender Quotas Affect the Political Representation of Women in Parliamentary Systems.
• The Influence of Political Campaigns on Voter Behavior: A Case Study of a Recent National Election.
• Assessing the connection between governance stability and disparities in wealth in modern society.
• Analysis of Right- and Left-Wing Populist Leaders’ Political Rhetoric Use in Populist Movements.
• Evaluating how well international human rights treaties work to encourage adherence to human rights.
• An analysis of non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) influence on environmental policy in modern society.
• Public Trust in Politics and National Scandals: A Comparative Analysis of Previous Cases.
• Exploring the Rise of Authoritarianism in Democracies: Factors and Challenges.
• Investigating the Influence of Media Ownership and Control on Media Bias in Political Reporting.

History Senior Thesis Ideas

History is a vast field with countless potential topics to explore for writing. This makes the selection process both exciting and daunting.

However, with careful consideration and planning process, researchers can write and find the perfect history senior thesis topics. Some history senior thesis topics that showcase history students’ analytical skills and intellectual prowess are:

• The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on Modern Society and Culture in the Renaissance Era
• Breaking Gender Limitations: The Contribution of Women to the Equal Rights Campaign
• The Causes and Consequences of the Cold War: A Comparison of the USA and the USSR
• Evaluating the Causes and Effects of the French Revolution
• The African-American Experience during the Reconstruction Era: Progress and Challenges
• The Role of Propaganda in World War II Development: Analysis of Nazi and Allied Strategies
• The Rise and Fall of Colonialism: Examining the Impact of European Powers on Africa
• The Origins and Development of Ancient Greece Culture
• The Great Depression: A Case Study on its Effects on the Society.
• The Impact of Rational Concepts on the American Revolution and the Rise of the US.

Criminal Justice Senior Thesis Ideas

Criminal justice senior thesis topics should address significant issues within the field. This gives students the chance to contribute to understanding the challenges and improvement of the criminal justice system. Listed are some senior thesis topics to consider:

• The Impact of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Accountability and Public Trust
• The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices in Reducing Recidivism Rates
• A Look at the Correlation between Mental Health and Criminal Behavior
• Exploring the Impact of Race and Ethnicity in the Law Enforcement System’s Sentencing Inequalities
• Analyzing the Effectiveness of Drug Courts in Keeping Substance Abuse Offenders Out of the Regular Law Enforcement System
• The Use of Risk Assessment Tools in Sentencing and Parole Decision-Making
• Investigating the Factors Influencing False Confessions and Their Implications for the Criminal Justice System
• Evaluation of the Impact of Capital Punishment on Criminal Activity Suppression and Community Response.
• Investigating the Links Between Halt and Search and Racism in Policing
• Rates of Juvenile Delinquency and Relapse and the Effectiveness of Rehab Initiatives

Senior thesis topics chosen with careful deliberation allow students to demonstrate their prowess in academic research. It is an opportunity for students to make original contributions to their fields, advance knowledge, and potentially impact the broader academic community.

The selection of good senior thesis topics for writing should be based on personal interest, feasibility, and relevance. This ensures a meaningful and successful research project. Good luck!

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College of Arts & Sciences

Thesis Topics

You are invited to pursue any topic that falls under the English department’s purview, and the Honors Committee will assume that you will pursue it with scholarly rigor, intellectual seriousness, and artistic integrity. You should follow your own interests and commitments in defining your project, though you should avail yourself of the advice of those faculty members whose expertise will help you focus your ideas and give them depth. Again, we welcome critical, creative, interdisciplinary, mixed genre, and hybrid creative/critical projects. Most successful applicants have derived their projects from interests developed during their time as English majors at Georgetown. During the actual writing of the thesis, of course, you will work closely with a faculty mentor.

Here is a partial list of the kinds of literary and interdisciplinary topics that Honors students have pursued over the past few years:

• Polyphony in the novels of Cormac McCarthy
• Women in post-Stonewall gay male literature
• Madness and skepticism in Hamlet and Don Quixote
• Dialogism in Toni Morrison and Christa Woolf
• The Booker Prize as post-colonial phenomenon
• Jazz in the Harlem Renaissance
• The scientific revolution and 18th-century narratives
• Irvine Welsh and dialect writing
• Sound and structure in scripts
• Identity and memory in Maxine Hong Kingston
• Influence of the internet on writing
• The written legacy of oral narratives in Amerindian culture
• Medieval women troubadours
• African-American women writers and their Biblical heritage
• Adult-child discourse in real-life conversation and classic children’s literature
• The role of bible-making in the works of Blake, Wordsworth, and Hardy
• Morality plays in the Middle Ages and the twentieth century

In addition, Honors students have written short story collections, memoirs, and collections of poetry. Students have also written hybrid creative/critical projects, such as a critique of postcolonial memoir within a postcolonial memoir. Those students who propose creative projects should have developed their skills through taking courses with the Georgetown English Department creative writing faculty or through participation in campus and professional journals and other creative venues.

Department of English

Recent Theses and Dissertations

Recent ph.d. dissertations.

• Graham Barnhart, In The Field Well Past the Golden Hour
• Madison Garber, A Dance in Memory: A Novel
• Colleen Mayo, The Traitor, Julia Kind and Stories
• Christa Reaves, Metamorphoses in Adaptation: Ovid, Shakespeare, and Modern Theatre
• Joshua Zimmerer, Set Fire to the Rodeo: A Novel
• Mohammed Alhamili, The Emergence of Arab Nation-State Nationalism as an Alternative to the Supranational Concept of Ummah
• Anthony Buenning, Shakespeare and Early Modern Trauma
• Jay Gentry, The World We Want to Leave Behind: White Supremacy in the Apocalyptic Genres Past, Present, and Future
• Jonathan Duckworth, The Sometime Joy
• Maricruz Gomez, Chicana Decolonial Feminism: An Interconnectedness of Being
• Cassia Hameline, Stay for the Heron: Essays
• Kat Moore, Have You Ever Had a Broken Heart?
• Aza Pace, Her Terrible Splendor
• Travis Scott Ray, Stories and "Burning Man"
• Megan Arlett, Louisiana Saturday Nights
• Anum Aziz, Mapping the Feminist Movement in Pakistani Literature: Towards a Feminist Future
• Joshua Jones, Somehow Holier
• Minadora Macheret, Dear Bone Mother
• Takuya Matsuda, This Man is Your Friend: Knowing "Us" and "Them" in Ethnic American Literature of the Pacific Theater
• Lauren Rogener, Cultures of Elite Theatre in the Elizabethan and Jacobean Masque: Four Incarnations
• Andrew Smith, The Construction of the Fringe Extraterrestrial of Postmodernity
• Carly Susser, Molt
• Kevin West, Portal
• Brett Armes, The Ends of Smaller Worlds
• Rebecca Bernard, In the Way of Family
• Natalie Clark, Defining and Teaching Courtliness with Animals and Clothing in the Lais of Marie de France
• Brian Clifton, Wrong Feast
• Andrew Koch, Some Names for Empty Space
• Shannon Sawyer, True War Stories: Lies, Truth, and Recovery in the Non/Fiction of Vietnam
• Katherine Schneider, Body Doubles: Materiality and Gender Non-Binarism in Victorian Supernatural Fiction
• Stephanie Vastine, Queerness, Futurity, and Desire in American Literature: Improvising Identity in the Shadow of Empire
• Aurelia von Tress, Revolutionaries and Prophets: Post-Oppositionality in Kathleen Alcalá's Sonoran Desert Trilogy
• Sarah Warren, Oklahoma History
• Ruby Al-Qasem, Resurrection Attempts: Essays
• Stevie Edwards, Still House
• Sanderia Faye, Eleven
• Natalie Foster, Winter
• Allyson Jones, Just Ask: A Memoir of My Father
• Matthew Morton, Improvisation without Accompaniment and What Passes Here for Mountains
• Sebastian Paramo, Where We Split
• James Redmond, Because You Previously Liked or Played
• Iqra Shagufta, Postmodernity and Pakistani Postmodern Literature
• Daniel Stuart, Stalking Dickens: Predatory Disturbances in the Novels of Charles Dickens
• Virginia Wood, Tigers Born in the Same Year
• Conor Burke, Given That the Body Was Made
• Justin Carter, Brazos
• Cheri Paris Edwards, Your Blues Ain't Like Mine:Voices from the Other Side of the Color Line
• Kimberly Garza, The Last Karankawas: Stories
• Meghan Taylor Johnson, Poor Things: Objects, Ownership, and the Underclasses in American Literature, 1868-1935
• Ross Wilcox, Union: A Novel
• Spencer Hyde, Let It Run
• Nick Lu, Constructing Taiwan: Taiwanese Literature and National Identity
• Jessica Murray, Notes for the Manual Assembly
• Clint Peters, The Divine Coming of the Light
• Jeff Pickell, Jeff Pickell: New and Selected
• Timothy Regetz, Lollardy and Eschatology: English Literature c. 1380-1430
• Charlie Ricciardelli, The Hoboken War Bride: A Novel
• Brian Tatum, Rearranging an Infinite Universe: Literary Misprision and Manipulations of Space and Time, 1750-1850
• Heidi Cephus, Corporeal Judgment in Sheakpeare's Plays
• Trista Edwards, Spectral Evidence
• Anthony Cole Jeffrey, The Aesthetics of Sin: Beauty in Early Modern English Literature
• Tana Juko, Misrecognized and Misplaced: Race Performed in African American Literature, 1900-2015
• Darcy Lewis, Xenotopia: Death and Displacement in the Landscape of Nineteenth-Century American Authorship
• Nick McRae, Inscrutable House
• Amber Pagel, "How Can We Know the Dancer from the Dance?": Cognitive Poetics and the Poetry of William Butler Yeats
• Timothy Ponce, The Hybrid Hero of Early Modern English Literature: A Synthesis of Classical and Contemplative Heroism
• Karl Zuehlke, Momentarium

Recent MA Theses

• Xaviera Hernandez, Mexican Goodbye
• Caleb Kunasek, The Colonial Subject in the Early British Novel: Revisiting Colonial Captivity in Robinson Crusoe
• John Brandt, "Before This Memory Makes Sense": Essays
• Joel Najera, Beyond the Hold: The Evolution of the Ship in African American Literature
• Andrea Perez, Death Date
• Sara Ulery, Rein of Renegades
• Kaitlyn Brown, Exploitation, Justification and Overcoming through Voice: Exploring American Slavery and the Slave Narrative in "The Handmaid's Tale"
• Cade Mason, "Engine Running": Essays
• Martin Ramirez, "The Sandbox" and Other Short Stories
• Olivia Trotter, Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy: How Society of Spectacle Bred the Mockingjay
• Conor Flannery, Collected Stories
• Zachary Kusch, A Century of Ash
• Garrett Vesely, Mortal Ghosts
• Laura Allen, Driving Lessons and Other Stories
• WIlliam Ross Irvin, Life Holders
• Hunter Jernigan, Running from My Youth: Essays
• Benjamin Smith, "A Very Fine Piece of Writing": Parnell and the Joycean Text, 1905-1922
• Morgan Inigo Smith, Flotsam: Men in Isolation
• Leah Tieger, Animals Alive and Dead
• Jaya Wagle, Homeland/Split
• Jessica Beattie, Second Life, Second Chance
• Caleb Braun, Developer
• Lauren Pilcher, "A Kind of Ghost"
• Sarah Ridley , That Every Christian May be Suited: Isaac Watts's Hymns in the Writings of Early Mohegan Writers, Samson Occom and Joseph Johnson
• Cary Siegfried, "Failure to Yield": Essays
• Amanda Yanowski , Off Main Street: Stories

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• Knowledge Base
• Starting the research process

How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow

Published on November 11, 2022 by Shona McCombes and Tegan George. Revised on November 20, 2023.

Choosing your dissertation topic is the first step in making sure your research goes as smoothly as possible. When choosing a topic, it’s important to consider:

• Your institution and department’s requirements
• Your areas of knowledge and interest
• The scientific, social, or practical relevance
• The availability of data and resources
• The timeframe of your dissertation
• The relevance of your topic

You can follow these steps to begin narrowing down your ideas.

Table of contents

Step 1: check the requirements, step 2: choose a broad field of research, step 3: look for books and articles, step 4: find a niche, step 5: consider the type of research, step 6: determine the relevance, step 7: make sure it’s plausible, step 8: get your topic approved, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about dissertation topics.

The very first step is to check your program’s requirements. This determines the scope of what it is possible for you to research.

• Is there a minimum and maximum word count?
• When is the deadline?
• Should the research have an academic or a professional orientation?
• Are there any methodological conditions? Do you have to conduct fieldwork, or use specific types of sources?

Some programs have stricter requirements than others. You might be given nothing more than a word count and a deadline, or you might have a restricted list of topics and approaches to choose from. If in doubt about what is expected of you, always ask your supervisor or department coordinator.

Start by thinking about your areas of interest within the subject you’re studying. Examples of broad ideas include:

• Twentieth-century literature
• Economic history
• Health policy

To get a more specific sense of the current state of research on your potential topic, skim through a few recent issues of the top journals in your field. Be sure to check out their most-cited articles in particular. For inspiration, you can also search Google Scholar , subject-specific databases , and your university library’s resources.

As you read, note down any specific ideas that interest you and make a shortlist of possible topics. If you’ve written other papers, such as a 3rd-year paper or a conference paper, consider how those topics can be broadened into a dissertation.

After doing some initial reading, it’s time to start narrowing down options for your potential topic. This can be a gradual process, and should get more and more specific as you go. For example, from the ideas above, you might narrow it down like this:

• Twentieth-century literature   Twentieth-century Irish literature   Post-war Irish poetry
• Economic history   European economic history   German labor union history
• Health policy   Reproductive health policy   Reproductive rights in South America

All of these topics are still broad enough that you’ll find a huge amount of books and articles about them. Try to find a specific niche where you can make your mark, such as: something not many people have researched yet, a question that’s still being debated, or a very current practical issue.

At this stage, make sure you have a few backup ideas — there’s still time to change your focus. If your topic doesn’t make it through the next few steps, you can try a different one. Later, you will narrow your focus down even more in your problem statement and research questions .

There are many different types of research , so at this stage, it’s a good idea to start thinking about what kind of approach you’ll take to your topic. Will you mainly focus on:

• Collecting original data (e.g., experimental or field research)?
• Analyzing existing data (e.g., national statistics, public records, or archives)?
• Interpreting cultural objects (e.g., novels, films, or paintings)?
• Comparing scholarly approaches (e.g., theories, methods, or interpretations)?

Many dissertations will combine more than one of these. Sometimes the type of research is obvious: if your topic is post-war Irish poetry, you will probably mainly be interpreting poems. But in other cases, there are several possible approaches. If your topic is reproductive rights in South America, you could analyze public policy documents and media coverage, or you could gather original data through interviews and surveys .

You don’t have to finalize your research design and methods yet, but the type of research will influence which aspects of the topic it’s possible to address, so it’s wise to consider this as you narrow down your ideas.

It’s important that your topic is interesting to you, but you’ll also have to make sure it’s academically, socially or practically relevant to your field.

• Academic relevance means that the research can fill a gap in knowledge or contribute to a scholarly debate in your field.
• Social relevance means that the research can advance our understanding of society and inform social change.
• Practical relevance means that the research can be applied to solve concrete problems or improve real-life processes.

The easiest way to make sure your research is relevant is to choose a topic that is clearly connected to current issues or debates, either in society at large or in your academic discipline. The relevance must be clearly stated when you define your research problem .

Before you make a final decision on your topic, consider again the length of your dissertation, the timeframe in which you have to complete it, and the practicalities of conducting the research.

Will you have enough time to read all the most important academic literature on this topic? If there’s too much information to tackle, consider narrowing your focus even more.

Will you be able to find enough sources or gather enough data to fulfil the requirements of the dissertation? If you think you might struggle to find information, consider broadening or shifting your focus.

Do you have to go to a specific location to gather data on the topic? Make sure that you have enough funding and practical access.

Last but not least, will the topic hold your interest for the length of the research process? To stay motivated, it’s important to choose something you’re enthusiastic about!

Most programmes will require you to submit a brief description of your topic, called a research prospectus or proposal .

Remember, if you discover that your topic is not as strong as you thought it was, it’s usually acceptable to change your mind and switch focus early in the dissertation process. Just make sure you have enough time to start on a new topic, and always check with your supervisor or department.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Formulating a main research question can be a difficult task. Overall, your question should contribute to solving the problem that you have defined in your problem statement .

However, it should also fulfill criteria in three main areas:

• Researchability
• Feasibility and specificity
• Relevance and originality

All research questions should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your field of study and/or society more broadly

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

The best way to remember the difference between a research plan and a research proposal is that they have fundamentally different audiences. A research plan helps you, the researcher, organize your thoughts. On the other hand, a dissertation proposal or research proposal aims to convince others (e.g., a supervisor, a funding body, or a dissertation committee) that your research topic is relevant and worthy of being conducted.

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McCombes, S. & George, T. (2023, November 20). How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow. Scribbr. Retrieved September 13, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/dissertation-topic/

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